Escaping the Weather
by Arclight279
Summary: The story is set after S02E03. Clarke has escaped Mt Weather with some help from Anya, but she is alone and trying to make sense of what to do and where to go. An unexpected romance develops along the way as she attempts to discover what happened in the aftermath of the Rocketfuel explosion. Grounder & Mt Weather Conflict, Clarke/Raven, Cameos from characters, OC's.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own the characters associated with this work (with the exception of the OC's). It is a work of fanfiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of my imagination (unless otherwise stated) or if real, are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All statements, activities, stunts, descriptions, information and material of any other kind contained herein are included for entertainment purposes only and should not be relied on for accuracy or replicated as they may result in injury.**

Waking up to the waning rays of sunlight for the day, Clarke hadn't felt this bad in a long time. She felt exhausted and hurt in a number of different places, particularly her arm as the stitches had once again come open and dried blood trailed down her arm to her hand and her throat as she coughed up water as she lay on her side. The events of the past few hours were coming back thick and fast for her.

'_Did I really jump off that waterfall?'_ She thought to herself, as she turned around and looked up to see in the distance, the turbulent water cascading down from a larger than she remembered height. Taking a step back she really got to appreciate the vista being offered to her. She considered herself somewhat of an artist and for the first time in a long time she was getting the itch to draw what was in front of her. Given everything that had gone on since 'The 100' had landed on the ground, with survival at the forefront of everyone's minds, there hadn't been a lot of time left over for her art.

Her clothes were still somewhat damp as she slowly got to her feet and looked around. She wondered what had happened to Anya. She remembered insisting that they stick together only to turn around and find that Anya was nowhere to be found. She also remembered being cornered by Reapers only to have soldiers from Mt Weather stop them by using a high pitched sound from handheld devices that only affected the Reapers before they briefly recaptured her.

A distraction allowed her to break free of their hold on her and enabled her to run and eventually jump from the top of the waterfall. Clarke realised with not much light left in the day and a reasonable trip ahead of her to get to the dropship she needed to come up with a plan. Having nothing on her but her wits and courage, she figured out a number of things which would allow her to come up with a plan quickly. She needed to get out of the open and fast as she didn't want to risk capture or worse by Mountaineers or by the Grounders. She didn't have any weapons to defend herself with so it was probably best she find somewhere to wait out the night and make for the dropship in the morning.

Surveying her surroundings, she figured a trip to the hatch where she and Finn had shared an intimate moment what seemed like an eternity ago was her best bet. She wondered what had happened to Finn as the last time she saw him was when she had to close the dropship to use the rocketfuel to flash fry the Grounders who were attacking the camp. She knew in all likelihood that Finn was probably dead, just another body that was essentially ash on the ground, but a small part of her wanted to hope that he had gotten away in time.

She picked up a sizeable rock from along the shore of the river, thinking that if it came down to it, she could use the rock as a melee weapon or as a projectile if it came to that. In no time at all, she was making a brisk pace through the forest, all the while keeping an ear out for any signs of danger. It wasn't that long ago that she remembered running for her life after the grounders had captured her forcing her to use her medical expertise to save a young girl while threatening to kill Finn if she did not comply, and as she escaped she ran into a trap and was strung up high in the air.

After many minutes of walking and jogging, she began to notice more familiar landscape meaning that she was closer to her destination. Clarke still could not believe the vibrancy of the colours down here on Earth. The muddiness of the brown of the soil, the deep blue of the water and the rich greens of the plant life. Even the way the light had certain effects on things, creating shadows and the way the water sparkled as the sun's rays reflected off the surface was nothing she could truly attempt to capture on canvas, paper or any surface with which she could draw on, not until she'd actually experienced it.

She had lapsed into a false sense of security though when she heard before she saw a group of Grounders standing around. Just off in the distance, she knew that the hatch was waiting but the only way to it was through the Grounders. There were three of them, with knives at their belts and bows slung across their backs. There was no way that Clarke was going to be able to take all three of them on at once, but she didn't need to take them out, she just needed to evade their notice.

Looking around her feet she picked up a stick and she crept closer to the Grounders. She could hear their speech more clearly now but it wasn't in a language that she understood. Aiming careful, she tossed the stick in the opposite direction and heard the rustle it made amongst the shrubbery. This diverted the Grounders attention and stopped their conversation at once. Weapons drawn, they begun to move in the direction of the sound and further down the path away from Clarke and the hatch.

Waiting long enough for her opportunity, Clarke then dashed out with the rock in hand and made it to the hatch, slowly and quietly removing the lid and easing her way down into the bunker below. As she hopped off the ladder she turned to see a body on the floor. It was a Grounder with a gunshot to his head and blood pooled around him on the floor. Kneeling down, she touched his neck, not to feel his pulse as he was clearly dead but to feel his temperature.

'_He's not that cold so he mustn't be long dead,'_ she thought. Draping a sheet over him, mostly so she didn't have to look at him, Clarke made her way over to the bed and laid down, eventually succumbing to the fatigue that had been plaguing her for the last few hours.

Clarke's dreams were troubled and she didn't sleep very well. She kept picturing any number of horrible things, most notably the skin and appearance of the soldier affected by the radiation, as well as the Grounders who were held in cages like animals by the Mountaineers and those hanging upside down being drained of blood to aid in the recovery of the Mountaineers. She also kept seeing Finn's face, that last time she saw him before closing the dropship's door for the rocketfuel BBQ. She saw his face transform from his healthy one to the bones and ash that she saw before being captured.

As she woke up, she took stock of her surroundings. The bunker was still largely untouched from the last time she had been there; art supplies still adorned the shelves as well as all sorts of other objects. She'd have said that no one else had visited here before here impromptu stay last night, but that wasn't true on a number of counts. She suspected that Finn had most likely spent some time here as he often roamed by himself, but aside from that, the slowly decomposing Grounder on the floor was also indication that someone else had visited here.

Having no idea what the time was as her father's watch was no longer around her wrist, Clarke opened the hatch and was greeted by the rays of morning sunlight which were peeking through the canopy high above. Looking left and right to make sure the coast was clear, she hopped out, pulling the hatch lid shut before making her way to the dropship, eyes peeled for those Grounders she evaded the day before.

The camp site around the dropship brought back all those horrors once more to the forefront of Clarke's mind as everything within a certain radius was burnt to a crisp, anything and everything that was in the path of the rocketfuel. The wall that they'd spent awhile constructing lay flattened on the ground, a ghostly reminder of the weak protection that it had once offered. The dropship was completely deserted as she pushed aside the flap that blocked the entrance. "Raven? Finn?" She called out tentatively as she looked around but no one was there.

There was a considerable amount of dried blood on the floor where she remembered seeing Raven last with her gunshot wound and another spot a few feet away but she wasn't sure whose blood that belonged to. Possibly the Grounder who was dead at her feet, him having been shot point blank between the eyes. Climbing the ladder to reach the upper level of the dropship, Clarke poked her head up there and looked around seeing no one else. She did however spot a long blade that would serve as good close quarter's protection. Other than that and given the absence of anyone, she didn't waste any more time than was necessary.

Back out in front of the dropship, Clarke decided to move onto the next phase of her plan. Seeing as she knew that the Mountaineers knew where the dropship was, and that they figured she might return there, Clarke knew that she couldn't stay here. She remembered seeing the Ark falling from the sky on the night of the battle with the Grounders and she got a brief glimpse of where it was located and she decided she'd head there and see if there were any survivors. So after getting her bearings, she took off in the direction of the Ark, attempting to make a decent pace on an empty stomach.

While taking a break on her journey Clarke wondered what might have happened to Raven. Did she die? That didn't seem likely given that there was no body to find, unless the Reapers had carried her off. She knew Raven wasn't captured, or at least she didn't think she was, because surely she would have seen her in the medical ward if she had been taken too.

A rustling nearby disturbed Clarke out of her thoughts as she quickly hid behind a large tree, peeking out to see that it was just one of those two headed deer's that she, Jasper, Monty, Finn & Octavia had gotten a glimpse of on their first day of being on the ground. She let it pass and continued to walk purposefully in the direction of the Ark and noticed that the tree line was thinning out.

She wondered how Jasper and Monty were doing as she had left them and the others behind when she had escaped from Mt Weather. She knew that they'd be safe enough with the Mountaineers as long as they didn't put a toe out of line and that they were smart enough to figure that out. She remembered Jasper calling her crazy for not trusting the Mountaineers and how he'd wanted her to stop sticking her nose where it didn't belong to ruin the comfort and luxuries afforded to them by the Mountaineers.

But she knew from the moment that she woke up in that sterile white room that something was off about the Mountaineers. She'd go back and save her people from the Mountaineers but she'd need help for that, so for the time being they had to stay put as she walked further and further away, one step at a time from Mt Weather and the so called "safety" it offered.

She could see a lake starting to take shape ahead and next to that was the large hulking structure of the Ark, or at least part of it anyway. Around the base of it, people were working and guards were keeping watch. Although she didn't know these people by name, she knew of them and recognised an odd face here and there. Running up to the entrance, faces started to turn and look at her, recognition evident in their expressions.

Abby came running over and embraced Clarke, "It's so good to see you alive again Clarke," she said as tears of joy begun to run down her face.

She pushed back to see Clarke's indifferent expression on her face. "It's good to see you too mom. I'm glad that there are people here as there's no one else left at the dropship."

She quickly explained all that had happened to her, about the Grounders and Mt Weather and her escape. "I've had a search party, well two actually out looking for you and the other kids," Abby explained as she told Clarke of the recent developments from the Ark.

"Well I need to go back out and find them, I can't just sit here not knowing, not doing anything," gesturing behind her to the vast forest.

A stern look crossed Abby's face before she announced, "You're not going anywhere Clarke. I've just gotten you back. Besides, Kane and his search party have a Grounder with them and are out looking for the kids and Bellamy, Finn, Murphy and others are also out there looking, you don't need to be in harm's way."

"The Grounders don't have the rest of our people, they are in Mt Weather," she crossed her arms defiantly.

"My mind is made up Clarke, I'm chancellor now and that is an order." Abby thought for a moment. "Kane and his party were going to talk peace with the Grounders, so if that goes well when they get back we may have them on our side so we can get our people back from Mt Weather. In the meantime, I want you to continue you medical training and help Raven in her rehabilitation as well as shadowing Jackson and myself."

With that she had Clarke escorted to the medical section of the Ark and had an armed guard placed on Clarke to follow her at all times. In the medical section she saw Raven recovering. "Clarke! It's really you! What happened to you and the others?" Raven asked.

Clarke got her first good look at another person who had been with her at the dropship but not in Mt Weather. Raven was looking better than when Clarke had last seen her. She was wearing her loose fitting grey top and blood orange jacket, as well as her long black pants, the Zero-G mechanic chic that was as every bit Raven as was her DNA. She was propped up on the table she'd been laying down on and her hair was in her characteristic pony tail. Clarke could tell that Raven was still a little 'out of it' as she didn't expect such a warm welcome given the animosity between the two. _'Mom probably gave her some pain medication and she's a little zonked from that,'_ she thought.

"We were taken after the battle with the Grounders by the people living in Mt Weather." Clarke quickly relayed the events to Raven,

"Wow that's insane. She really won't let you go after Finn and the others to help?" Clarke shook her head. "I've even got my own personal bodyguard to keep me company," she motioned at him.

"My mom wants me to resume my medical training and help you with your rehab."

Raven smiled. "Well if I get better quickly we could always bust out of here and go after them ourselves," making a series of hand gestures which Clarke presumed were to mime breaking out of the camp. Raven told Clarke about everything that had happened to her from when she woke up in the dropship having passed out for awhile and it filled in some of the gaps for Clarke. She smiled at Raven's optimism, but with her mom's protection hovering and the likelihood that Raven wasn't going to be recovering any time soon, her mood was dark.

**4 weeks later…**

Clarke was going insane with cabin fever. She'd done what her mom had asked, keeping up the pretence of continuing her medical training but she was secretly waiting for her chance to break out and go off on her own. Her attempts hadn't gone so well though, because each and every time she'd tried getting out and had given her guard the slip she was rounded up in the forest. It was as if her mom had been anticipating such a thing from happening and Clarke decided to bide her time once more.

A few more weeks had passed and there was still no word or sign from Kane and his party or from Finn and the others and she was starting to get worried. On the bright side, Raven had been making remarkable leaps and bounds in her recovery. Abby had called it nothing short of a miracle that Raven was able to recover so quickly after such extensive nerve damage in her legs.

"Well as you know I'm feeling much better, so how about you and I make an escape attempt. You probably need my help to get away from the second set of guards that pick you up," Raven teased as she lightly punched Clarke's arm.

The two of them had really bonded over the last few weeks, especially given the rocky start they'd had to a friendship when Finn was in between them. Clarke was finding that she enjoyed Raven's upbeat, tough girl personality. She also admired her skills and her ability to overcome any adversity that was thrown her way. She rolled her eyes as she sat on the bed,

"Right because I haven't snuck out of places before you were around."

Clarke's mood darkened as she realised that no news from either search party was probably bad news. Raven noticed Clarke's mood change and she came to stand in front of her.

"Are you alright?"

Clarke shook her head. "I'm just thinking that we might not see some of our friends again. They've been gone for this long and we've heard nothing from them and the wait is killing me. I want to go out and search for them myself."

She looked down at the floor. Raven raised Clarke's head with a finger under her chin so she was staring in her eyes.

"What happened to the serious, let's never leave our friends behind and never give up Clarke?" Raven's hands were on Clarke's shoulders now having given her a slight shake.

"You and me, we're going to go and find them and we're going to bring them back," she pointed back and forth between the two of them the tip of her finger pressing against Clarke. "We'll get some weapons and anyone in our way better watch out." Clarke smiled, but it was a sad smile at Raven's bravado.

"That's easier said than…," Clarke begun to say before she was interrupted by Raven's lips pressed against hers. Raven moved her hands up to cup Clarke's face and Clarke pulled back, a look of confusion crossing her face.

"What was that about Raven?" Raven smiled as she pushed Clarke's legs apart and stepped even closer to her.

"You needed to be distracted from your sadness and truthfully, I've wanted to do that for awhile now Clarke."

Clarke was speechless as she looked at Raven's radiant expression. Part of her didn't know what to think about what Raven had just said and another part of her liked it. A lot. Her feelings were all jumbled, as she wasn't even sure Finn was still alive but now that Raven was declaring her interest it confused Clarke even more.

Raven on the other hand, liked where this was going already. She'd spent many hours over the past week thinking about doing just that to Clarke and now that she'd tasted her lips she wanted more. She couldn't pinpoint exactly when her feelings for Clarke developed from just friends to something more but she was glad they did.

In the beginning she resented Clarke for taking Finn away from her, but over these last few weeks, she got to see exactly the kind of person Clarke was. She moved in slowly and seeing that Clarke made no attempt to move away from her, she kissed Clarke with more passion this time, using her tongue to part Clarke's lips and slide into her mouth. Clarke was returning her eagerness by putting her arms around Raven's neck, drawing her closer.

"Wow."

Was all Clarke could say when they broke apart. She found herself smiling just as much as Raven was. Her pulse was racing and she was slightly out of breath just from that kiss. It got her thinking what it could be like if they took it further.

"How about you spend the night with me and we'll plan our escape from here?" Raven asked. Clarke nodded and allowed Raven to lead her to bed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A few hours later, Clarke and Raven lay under the blankets their clothes strewn haphazardly across the floor.

"So how do you feel about the plan?" Raven asked as she wiggled closer to Clarke who was lightly tracing a finger back and forth down Raven's upper body.

"I think it's our best play if we want to get out of here and having you along will definitely help."

They'd agreed to get the drop on Clarke's guard and they were going to get two guns which they'd need if they were traipsing through the forest looking for any clues on the whereabouts of their friends.

"What do you think about us?" Raven said as she motioned a finger back and forth between the two of them, looking intently into her eyes.

Clarke answered by leaning over and pulling Raven in for a kiss. She pulled Raven on top of her and kissed her slowly. Her hands were running down Raven's back, upping the heat of their embrace the longer it went on. Raven's body fit perfectly against Clarke's and it was a level of intimacy that both had never experienced before.

"Does that answer your question?" She said coyly, her voice taking on a husky quality which caused Raven's lust to flare up.

"Absolutely it does. I like this side of you Clarke and I like that I have you all to myself," she sighed knowing that they had to get moving but would have preferred to lay there all day with her.

"As much as I want to make the most of you being in bed with me we've got a plan to execute. I'll get the guns and you get dressed for me," Raven said as she got up and let the blanket fall back onto Clarke.

Clarke got to appreciate Raven's body in a new way as she watched her pick up her clothes and put them on piece by piece. Raven knew she was being watched and it gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling inside which only intensified when she saw Clarke watching her.

Turning, she crooked a finger and Clarke rose from the bed and Raven enjoyed watching the blanket spill onto the bed as she gazed longingly at Clarke's body. Clarke walked over and kissed Raven once more before Raven pulled away.

"We can't get distracted no matter how good the distraction would be," she said as she handed Clarke her bra.

Clarke quickly got dressed and went to carry on her part of the plan which would be to carry on as normal, while Raven got the weapons and hid them for retrieval later. She felt restless all day, she just wanted to get out and start looking for her friends already. Abby however, seemed to notice that Clarke's mind was not 100% on the job.

"It's important that you place them in this position to allow for the airway to open…What's up Clarke you've been distracted all day?"

"I'm just sick and tired of waiting around here doing nothing while my friends are out there and probably in trouble," she slumped down into a chair the picture of exasperation.

"You've been doing good work here, continuing your training and helping people out, especially Raven," Abby gaze softened. "I don't know how many more people I want to send out into the unknown Clarke. The rest of the camp are worried enough as it is with the search parties having not returned."

"So don't send a group of people. Just send Raven and I and we'll find out what happened to them," she got up and crossed the room grabbing her mom's hands, her face impassioned with the belief that she could get to the bottom of this.

Abby just shook her head and Clarke knew that what she and Raven had planned definitely had to go ahead.

"I refuse to send you out there Clarke. The worrying would drive me crazy and as for Raven, she shouldn't be pushed into doing something too strenuous regardless of her recovery. So don't go putting ideas into her head."

Clarke only smiled at this, knowing that it was Raven who had suggested they leave in the first place. She walked back to her room to find that Raven was already there, but close behind Clarke was the guard. She turned to face him,

"Do you mind giving us some privacy?"

Stepping out into the hall and shutting the door behind him, Clarke quickly crossed the room to Raven where she kissed her quickly.

"I've been waiting all day to that," she said which brought a smile to Raven's face. She had her hands at Raven's waist keep her body pressed against hers.

"I got all the stuff that we need," Raven said pre-empting what Clarke was about to ask, "Now all we have to do is ditch the tail," she continued as she got into position by the doorway, gesturing with her head to indicate the guard outside.

Clarke opened the door, poking her head out but making sure that Raven was out of the line of sight. "Can you come in here please? I need your help with something," she said to the guard.

Clarke turned and walked back further into the room not waiting to see if the guard followed her inside. Sure enough though, a moment later he came striding through the door with his weapon holstered. He looked at Clarke expectantly which was all the distraction Raven needed as she stepped toward him silently from behind and kicked him behind his right knee causing him to tumble forward.

"It's nothing personal, we just need to go after our friends," Clarke said dropping to crouch in front of the guard so she was at eyelevel as Raven wrapped an arm around his neck and her legs around his torso, cutting off his air supply.

Raven had wanted to strike him with force to knock him out, but Clarke didn't feel right doing that to one of the Ark's people so they compromised with this less aggressive solution. Within moments the guard had passed out and they took an arm each and dragged him further into the room, leaving him beside the bed. With that tricky part of the plan out of the way, Clarke and Raven strapped a pack each onto their backs and headed out the door. Raven took Clarke's hand in hers as they walked out, checking to see if the commotion had brought any unwanted attention.

"What? Too much? Raven asked after eyeing the look on Clarke's face.

Clarke just smiled, "I didn't figure you for the hand holding type," she said. Raven started to let go but Clarke held on,

"I like being close with you, even hand holding," she continued and that's how they walked out of the Ark together.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was an eerily quiet night and the sky was cloudless, filled with stars. Many of the now displaced residents of the Ark had turned in for the night as the ground was littered with tents. Clarke noticed how much quieter it was down on Earth compared to the low level background noise that accompanied the systems and machinery on the Ark when they were in orbit. They strolled out the front and where almost to the tree line,

"So you were going to leave without saying goodbye?" asked Abby. Clarke and Raven turned still hand in hand to face her, a defiant expression etched onto Clarke's face.

"Well after I'd been kept prisoner here and my friends, our people still out there I," she paused, glancing briefly at Raven, "We have to do something."

"I'm only trying to keep you safe Clarke. I waited so long to be able to see you again and even then there were times when it was likely I'd never see you again. I'd hate to lose that now that I've been given the chance," Abby said as she stepped forward, "Please Clarke," she added further putting one hand on top of the other in a pleading gesture.

Clarke crossed her arms and stepped forward. "I still haven't forgiven you about what you did."

Abby sighed. "I can see that I'm not going to change your mind, you've got my stubbornness," she looked over at Raven. "I know that you and my daughter have gotten close. Please look after her and make sure she comes back."

Raven nodded. "I will Abby." She moved forward and hugged Clarke briefly from behind before taking her hand again and leading her past the line of trees and out of sight. Abby watched the two of them leave until they were swallowed up by the darkness and wondered if she'd see her daughter again.

Clarke released Raven's hand and they pressed on in silence, weapons at the ready in case they needed to use them. "She loves you, you know," Raven said to break the silence.

"You shouldn't waste that, the time you have with loved ones because they'll be gone before you know it," she continued as she walked alongside Clarke whilst looking at her attempting to gauge her reaction.

"You understand why I can't look at her, let alone forgive though right?" Raven nodded, her rifle slouching slightly as she put her free hand on Clarke's arm.

"I do, but I care about you Clarke and so does your mom and she's only doing what she thinks is best."

"Can we not talk about this right now?" As soon as the words left her mouth there was a loud snapping of a twig. Clarke whirled around in the direction it came from to hear movement in the trees. Whoever was out there was making not attempt to disguise their presence.

"Stand back to back, okay?" Raven asked as they both had their rifles up at the ready. The silence was thick and deadly as they waited for whoever it was to show themselves. The first Reaper charged toward them and was easily cut down by Clarke. They shifted around keeping an eye on every possible point of attack.

Within moments they were swarmed with Reapers coming at them thick and fast, both of them concentrating on staying alive and what was immediately in front of them. Eventually the sound of gunfire ceased, the ground littered with the bodies of the many Reapers who had attacked.

Raven turned to check on Clarke and she quickly raised her gun up as she took in the sight in front of her. A female Grounder had Clarke held close to her with a knife at her throat. Clarke' gun was on the ground discarded and useless.

"Let go of me Anya! I saved your life we can work this out," Clarke said addressing the female Grounder who Raven now knew was named Anya.

"Let her go or I'll shoot!" Raven threatened but the malice wasn't behind her words. She knew that it would be too risky to try to shoot Anya with Clarke so close, even as she adjusted her posture to hold the rifle steady so she could make a clean precise shot if necessary.

Anya tightened her grip on Clarke and pressed the knife to Clarke's throat a little harder.

"We both know that you won't shoot, not with the odds of you hitting your friend higher than hitting me," Anya replied. Raven lowered her rifle,

"What do you want then? If you wanted her dead she would be already."

"My clan won't take me back unless I have something to offer them. I lost a lot of my people when we battled yours, we need some form of retribution and that's where you two come in."

Raven raised her rifle up once more. "That's not going to happen. The moment I get a clear shot at you, you're as good as dead."

Anya laughed. "I was watching you two before, the Reapers attacked. I know that you are together; you wouldn't risk her life now would you? That's what you'd be doing if you tried anything. She'd be dead before you could kill me and then what good would that be for you?"

Raven let out a sigh of exasperation, her rifle hung limply at her side her other hand palm open and face out. "What do you want me to do? Just don't hurt her."

Anya considered for a moment and as her gaze met Raven's it was full of anger and hatred. "You're going to be in front of me at all times, protecting us with that gun. Try anything and she," Anya tightened her grip even more, bringing a slight whimper from Clarke, "will suffer for it. We're going to go meet with my people so I can hand you over."

Anya quickly motioned in the direction she wanted Raven to start walking and once she was behind her slowly followed as they took their first steps towards the Grounder settlement.

**A/N:**

**Music that inspired the chapter**

**As part of the writing process, I've found that music often helps spark the creativity that leads to how certain scenes/scenarios will play out. In some cases, it helps generate an idea or a different way of approaching a scene. In other cases, I imagine the music in the background setting the tone for what is to come or the emotion/s felt by those characters or even just to lend some insight into what they would be feeling (e.g. fear with a darker macabre piece of music).**

**I decided to share the music that allowed me to bring to life my fanfiction and I hope you'll see what I mean if you listen to the songs. If you'd like to hear exactly in greater detail as to why these songs were chosen feel free to inbox me!**

**Songs:**

_Venice Rooftops - Jesper Kyd (When Clarke is running through the forest after her 1st escape from Mt Weather)_

_Earth - Jesper Kyd (When Clarke sees the Ark for the first time after leaving the dropship)_

_Torn - Natalie Imbruglia (When Clarke feels helpless about finding her friends & Finn)_

_Kiss Me - Sixpence none the richer (When Raven finally kisses Clarke)_

_Imminent Attack - Jesper Kyd (When Clarke and Raven get attacked after they leave the Ark to go after their friends)_

**Congratulations you've reached the end of the chapter! Liked what you read? Didn't like it? Leave me a review as feedback is encouraged! I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head for this story but if you have a suggestion I'd love to hear it! **

**It's always nice reading reviews and each time I see that I have a new person follow or favourite the story or both it never fails to bring a smile to my dial so it's much appreciated because it makes it worthwhile knowing that there are people out there in the big wide world who are reading and enjoying what I've written. **

**Now for a bit of shameless self promotion. I have another story which I work on every now and then usually when an idea pops into my head. The story is called 'Octavia Blake: Girl on a mission.' **

**It's a story with a slow burn and may take awhile to get into especially seeing as there is only a couple of chapters in so far, but it was largely born out of a combination of seeing how distraught Octavia was when her and Lincoln got separated on an episode of 'The 100', watching a lot of the TV show 'Arrow' and the movie 'John Wick'. So if you've got a moment or two and have made it this far why not give it a look and tell me what you think. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

Even though the pace was slow, Anya forced them to walk through the night and all through the next day. Both Clarke and Raven were tired not so much from strenuous activity, but from the sheer length of time that they were forced to keep moving.

"How much further actually is this place that you're taking us?" Clarke asked wearily. She'd lost track of where they were in reference to the Ark a long time ago, partly due to the fact that they'd begun to move into unchartered territory and also because the scenery looked the same. The forest was full of life with the occasional rustling of animals but they didn't see hide nor hair and they certainly hadn't seen another soul, Grounder or otherwise.

"It's only a bit further but if you keep complaining I'll kill you and be done with it," replied Anya shoving Clarke forward in the process causing her to stumble.

Raven, whose alertness was slipping as her fatigue rose glanced over her shoulder to look at Clarke and Anya. She could see how tired Clarke was as she still kept putting one foot in front of the other. She wanted nothing more than for the two of them to be rid of Anya so they could find their friends who they hadn't heard from for awhile now. Raven noticed Clarke's head droop slightly and her stumble and that's what brought her to a stop.

"Can we at least have a break for awhile? I'm sure your people will still be there and waiting regardless of whether we have a break or not." She motioned to Clarke, "She's exhausted and you must be too." Raven thought about it for a moment before she dropped her gun to the ground. "Let us have a break and we'll go with you willingly." She pleaded.

Anya made a show of thinking about it for a moment. At least as much as a person can make a show of deliberation whilst holding another person hostage with a blade. "Hmmmm, no I don't think we will. The only time I plan to rest is when the both of you are dead."

With an exaggerated sound of exasperation, Raven picked up her rifle and trudged on. She caught a glimpse of a clearing up ahead, the suns rays peeking through the canopy above, illuminating the ground. There was a large log from a fallen tree that on another day, she could have seen herself sitting on with Clarke by her side. Or perhaps they'd be lounging on the soft bed of grass, blissfully ignorant of everything but each other. Nothing else existing except that moment in time.

She imagined tucking an errant section of Clarke's blonde hair behind her ear, looking into her eyes and sharing a kiss or two. They'd be talking about nothing important and they wouldn't have to worry about life or death situations. Raven looked back at Clarke once more and noticed Clarke looking at her and when their eyes met, Clarke smiled and Raven could feel herself blush and she wondered if maybe Clarke had been thinking similar thoughts, anything to get their mind off of the current situation that they were in.

Raven was broken out of her revere by the sound of an arrow slamming into the bough of a tree nearby her head. She quickly stepped back closer to Clarke and Anya, quickly waving her rifle to try and pinpoint any threats to shoot at. She got her first sight of other people in days, who turned out to be Grounders. They seemingly melting out of the trees, one minute they weren't there and the next they were. Looking around Raven could see that they were surrounded.

"You may as well put your gun down, you'll be dead before you could fire a shot off anyway," Anya said breaking the silence.

Raven looked at her, "These are your people? We've finally arrived?" She asked not taking her eyes off the Grounders that were emerging from the tree line.

"Whether she is one of us anymore remains to be seen, Girl from the sky," one of the Grounders said as he stepped forward, his booming voice signalling his authority amongst the Grounders. He was an absolute mountain of a man standing at well over 6 feet tall and packing plenty of muscle on his sculpted physique. Much like what the rest of the Grounders typically wear, their leader was no different in that the clothes they wore consisted of a mix of browns, greens and blacks actively designed to blend into the surroundings.

He signalled for one of his underlings to tie the hands of Raven as well as Clarke and they were led into the settlement of the Grounders. There were huts constructed out of a range of materials that were hung up high in the trees. Slaves were walking around carrying a variety of items to be used for construction amongst other things, eagerly patrolled by Grounders who were more than keen to dole out the punishment if a slave was shirking their duties for even a moment.

In the centre of the camp however, Clarke noticed that her friends Bellamy, Murphy and Finn were bound upright in a position as if they were to be whipped and flayed. Their shirts were missing and their torso's were adorned with a variety of cuts, scrapes, burns and welts making them look the worse for wear. Finn looked up and saw Clarke and Raven with their hands tied and walking toward him,

"Clarke!" No sooner had he yelled out her name a horn sounded, but this horn had a deeper sound to it in comparison to the one that warned of the impending acid fog. At the sound of the horn, Grounders from all corners of the settlement made their way to encircle those captured as their leader spoke,

"Fellow people of the Ground, I your leader Jorah, announce the capture of another two prisoners from the sky." He looked over at Anya before continuing moving around the circle in an attempt to address everyone and make his voice heard, "I also would like your help on deciding a matter."

He grabbed Anya and shoved her to the ground in front of Bellamy and those bound. "Our sister Anya has returned to us with these new captives. She led our people into a battle which they ultimately lost and essentially all of them lost their lives." He paused for effect.

"So my question is, does she deserve to be one of us?" A roar of assent met his question and he nodded. "So it shall be done. Anya you are welcomed back with open arms."

He held out a hand to her which she took and he pulled her to her feet. Jorah walked over to stand in front of Clarke and Raven, "Now to decide which one of you to torture first." As he looked over at Raven she spat in his face, to which he just laughed it off, "She's feisty this one," he said addressing the crowd with a laugh.

"I think we'll torture her first." Anya stepped forward in front of Raven, blocking his path, "I have a suggestion for that," she said as she gestured to Raven. "The two of them are lovers so I think the torture would work best if you tortured one and gave the other a close look while you did it." Jorah rested his hands on Anya's shoulders,

"I like that plan Anya." He turned to the nearest Grounder, "String the feisty one up like the other prisoners," and to another Grounder he said, "Make sure this one gets the best seat in the house," pointing at Clarke. He pulled a long, recently polished blade from a sheath on his back and waited for his orders to be followed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"What's the point of torturing us if you've already gotten information from our friends?" Clarke asked as she was shoved to her knees merely feet away from where Raven was strung up. Jorah walked over and with his free hand, backhanded Clarke sending her sprawled awkwardly to the ground, before she was righted again by the Grounder nearby.

"I'll answer your question not because I have to, but so you understand and this process will go as smoothly as possible." He waved his blade to Bellamy, Finn and Murphy. These three eventually provided us with information, but I want to see if you and your lover have anything else you can offer by the way of information; now be silent!"

He sauntered over so that he was standing right in front of Raven as he prepared to ask his first question.

"Where exactly are your people from the sky located?" He waited patiently for a few seconds to give Raven a chance to reply but she just stared at him defiantly. He drew the blade across her exposed torso; the only bit of clothing on her upper body was her bra. Clarke saw Raven wince as a line of crimson appeared across her torso.

"Got anything to say now?" he prompted her whilst waving his blade at her. She smiled at him and gestured to Clarke with her head,

"Is that all you got? She's rougher than you, you know." Raven said earning her some laughs from the male Grounders and a wry smile from Jorah.

"I knew I'd like you. It's a shame to have to kill you afterwards. You don't seem like a bitch I could bring to heel." Raven glared at him once more. The questions came one after the other and occasionally instead of being cut, Raven was whipped from behind.

The questions were all sorts of questions that the Grounders could think of that they might need to know about the people from the Ark. Seeing Raven hanging more limply after a lengthy interrogation brought tears to Clarke's eyes.

"Stop! Just please stop! I'll tell you everything you might want or need to know. Just let her go and let me look after her wounds, please?" She begged Jorah, who with a gesture with his head got another Grounder to cut Raven loose as he unbound Clarke's hands. She raced over to Raven and put her head in her lap. She brushed Raven's hair out of her face soothing her to begin with. She moved down to inspect Raven's wounds, wincing at the sight.

"It's gonna leave a pretty wicked scar that first cut isn't it? I hope those do it for you," Raven joked as Clarke smiled with her watery eyes leaking tears.

"I'm going to get you out no matter what Raven and no one's going to hurt you again," Clarke said with fierce determination as she kissed Raven quickly before grabbing Raven's shirt to wrap around her torso to slow the bleeding.

"Alright, that's long enough!" said Jorah in his booming voice as he grabbed Clarke roughly by her hair. He didn't wait to ask a question this time, dragged his blade across her back cutting open the back of her top in the process. Clarke cried out but Jorah still held on,

"You going to suffer for what happened all those people you killed. My people," he whispered hoarsely in her ear. The sound of a spear sinking into flesh interrupted the scene and it was closely followed by that of gunfire. Clarke was soon on the ground with Jorah's dead weight on top of her.

She could see where the bullet had penetrated his skull as she attempted to push him off of her. The sounds of battle were soon upon the settlement as arrows and bullets were exchanged. Clarke caught sight of someone standing at top a slope looking down at the settlement and given her position it was clear that she was the one who threw the spear to start it all.

Octavia. Wriggling free finally, Clarke stumbled over to Raven and attempted to shield her from danger. She looked around watching the battle unfold as a feeling of helplessness overtook her being unarmed as she was. She could see councillor Kane and his search party putting down any resistance until there was none left because they were either dead or had fled.

"Are you alright Clarke?" Octavia asked as Clarke looked up to see her standing nearby. Octavia gestured to the Grounder next to her.

"This man is a friend of Lincoln's and a healer. Let him help Raven." Clarke just nodded as she sat and leant back against the structure which they had strung Raven up by as the healer set to work on Raven and Clarke passed out from exhaustion.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Clarke woke up to the sound of murmured voices, too faint for her to make out. She quickly shot up and took in her surroundings, wincing as the flare of pain on her back reminded her of the cut that the former leader of this tribe of Grounders had given her. She had been laying down on a surprisingly comfortable stretcher in one of the few huts that were on the ground in the settlement.

"Hey Clarke you're awake now!" She was instantly greeted by the sound of Octavia's voice as she looked over and saw the girl striding over to her. "How are you feeling?" She asked as a follow up question. Clarke waved her hand in a dismissive motion,

"I'm angry, and a little sore. But fine otherwise." She looked closely at Octavia and saw her in a different way. She looked as though she was standing taller, prouder since the last time she'd seen her. She was still dressed in the same gear that she stepped off the dropship with except she was slightly dirtier and had bandage wrapped around her lower left leg. "Thanks by the way Octavia for coming to the rescue when you did."

Clarke looked over at Raven and saw her sleeping peacefully. She got up and walked over to Raven, kneeling by her bed, brushing her hair out of her face. Octavia walked across the room to Clarke,

"She's going to be out for a few hours but she'll be fine. Scarred because of the cuts, but fine otherwise." Clarke got up and with a defiant expression on her face asked, "Is Anya out there? Is she still alive?" Octavia look puzzled for a second.

"I'm not sure who you're talking about, but there was one Grounder, a woman who was captured after a scuffle so that could be her. Why?"

Clarke grabbed a knife out of a sheath off of Octavia's belt and walked to the door, stopped to look back, "We have unfinished business her and I."

Raven woke up a few hours later looking up at the ceiling of the hut that she was in. She'd slept a dreamless sleep thankfully and the events of the day previously all came rushing back to her. Getting taken to the Grounder settlement by Anya, getting tortured and seeing the anguish on Clarke's face as they made her watch it all happen. Then the battle that ensued afterwards. She remembered Clarke looking after her wounds briefly before she passed out but she had no recollection of how she ended up in this hut.

"Hey sleepyhead, how are you feeling?" The voice came from her left and Raven moved her head to see Finn now approaching. He looked the worse for wear after the beating he'd likely taken, and definitely exhausted but she had to admit he still looked cute with his short haircut and his prisoner clothes which all of 'The 100' were sporting nowadays. Raven tried to sit up and winced due to the cuts on her stomach and welts on her back but she managed it eventually.

"I'm sore and still a little tired but you know me, nothing can keep this girl down," she said playfully as she punched his arm. Looking over his shoulder, she noticed Clarke was slumped in a chair asleep.

"How long has she been here?" Raven asked. Finn glanced over his shoulder and looked back at Raven.

"Ever since she finished with Anya she hasn't left your side for a minute." He continued after noticing the puzzled look on her face. "She was pretty pissed when she woke up and Anya felt her wrath."

"What did she do?" Raven's mind going through the number of possibilities that could have occurred.

Finn smiled for a moment as he met Raven's eyes putting a hand on her shoulder, "Let's just say I don't want to piss Clarke off ever again." Finn pulled a chair over and sat down. "So you and Clarke huh?"

Raven smacked him on the arm, "First get your mind out of the gutter. You might have been with both of us before but still and second yeah we're together." She held up her hand to stop him from asking the next obvious question.

"It just kind of happened okay. She came back to the Ark one day and she was helping me through my rehab. I started to see exactly the kind of person she was and it was hard not to fall for her. I took a chance by kissing her one day and then one thing led to another."

Raven smiled at the memory. Despite the short time that she and Clarke had been together she could only speak for herself when she said she was crazy about Clarke. Just as Finn went to ask another question, Clarke stirred and saw that Raven was awake. She rushed over and pulled Raven into a quick hug which she released after hearing Raven wince.

"I'm sorry are you alright?" She asked a look of horror on her face for not having been more careful.

"Annnnnd that's my cue to leave. I'll catch up with you both later," Finn said squeezing Raven's hand one last time and acknowledging Clarke with a brief nod. Clarke was focused solely on Raven now, pulling up her shirt to examine the wounds.

"He did a good job, the healer that is," she commented to no one in particular, her eyes roaming over Raven's exposed torso. Raven pulled Clarke in for a kiss which she happily obliged. Even after they broke apart, Clarke remained really close looking deep into Raven's eyes.

"So what was this I heard about you being angry and Anya?" Raven enquired as she broke the spell that they were both seemingly under.

Clarke's expression turned murderous as she remembered what she had done to Anya. She pulled back slightly, giving her some space. Everything that had been done to Raven she made sure that Anya had felt the same pain to with her own twist added in.

"She brought us here to get tortured. If she hadn't brought us here this never would have happened." She tucked her hair behind her ears, "I couldn't let her get away with doing that to someone I care about. To someone that I love." The words were out of Clarke's mouth before she could take them back. She had a slightly horrified expression on her face as she looked at Raven hoping she hadn't scared her away, covering her mouth with her hands.

"So you love me huh?" Raven asked with a playful smile on her face.

Clarke relaxed visibly, but was still wary. "I don't know where that came from. I've just been a wreck the last few hours worrying about you. Wanting to hold you, touch you and tell you how much you mean to me. I just don't want to scare you away." Clarke admitted as she looked down at her lap not being able to look up and meet Raven's gaze right there and then in case her feelings weren't reflected.

"How would you touch me? How would you hold me?" Raven asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Clarke pushed up Raven's shirt and started kissing her stomach, being gentle before she joined her on the bed taking her head in her hands bringing Raven's lips to meet hers. Her heart was pounding wildly and her pulse raced a marathon, the blood pumping loudly in her ears. Raven pushed back for a moment breaking their contact,

"Clarke wait; I need to say something before we continue." She paused for a moment, "I don't think I've ever felt as loved by someone as I do by you now. It's an amazing feeling and it's only going to get better."

"Really and why's that?" Clarke asked a look of surprise adorned her face.

"Because I love you too Clarke Griffin." She pulled Clarke's lips back to hers and for the time being there was nothing else that mattered more in the world, this new world to her right in that moment than Clarke. Raven dragged her shirt the rest of the way over her head, flinging it to the floor. She watched as Clarke did the same, and in between each piece of clothing that was removed they resumed showing to one another how their feelings translated into actions.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Later that evening, there was a big bonfire that was lit in a pit in the middle of the Grounder settlement. Food had been cooked and passed around for all to sample now that they could put their feet up for a day at least. Clarke and Raven had arrived hand in hand after an afternoon exploring the more physical aspects of their relationship and after having collected some food, sat down to eat. Being totally at easy with the situation and herself as a person, Raven decided to let her playful side out for the evening.

"Oooo Clarke you have to try this!" She said excited by the food she'd just sampled. Clarke waited for Raven to give it to her but when she didn't, Raven winked,

"Come and get it," placing the piece of food between her lips. Clarke blushed and slowly closed the gap between them, carefully pulling the piece of food into her mouth with her tongue. Raven cupped the back of Clarke's head with her hand and pulled her in for a quick kiss.

"You're in a mischievous mood tonight," Clarke noted placing a hand on Raven's thigh.

Raven shrugged, "I'm just really happy." Clarke smiled and was glad that Raven, her girlfriend was in high spirits especially after what she'd been through since arriving on Earth in that pod, what now seemed like an eternity ago. Just thinking about the fact that she and Raven were a couple also surprised and delighted Clarke. Given the trials and tribulations that 'The 100' had been through and the responsibility that had been thrust onto her shoulders, dating and whatnot was something that hadn't even crossed her mind. Raven noticed that Clarke wasn't entirely with her in that moment,

"What are you thinking so hard about?" She asked as she played with a lock of Clarke's blonde hair.

"Oh just about everything we've been through and how I didn't expect I'd be in a relationship since coming down to Earth." She put her hands on Raven's thighs and slid them closer to her body, leaning in closer to Raven's face.

"But I'm glad I am. I mean it just happened out of the blue, but there's not a person I'd rather spend my time with." She kissed Raven quickly, savouring the touch and taste of her lips.

"Ugh break it up you two; your cuteness is going to make everyone sick. Or at least get a room," said Octavia as she bumped into Clarke as she sat down next to her. Raven slung an arm around Clarke and pulled her close,

"We will later after this meeting or whatever it is finishes, but you're welcome to join us Octavia," Raven said as she winked suggestively at her.

Octavia just rolled her eyes, "Thanks Raven but you are so not my type."

"Could I have everyone's attention please?" This from councillor Kane who was standing on the stump of a tree so he was raised up above everyone else and clear for all to see wherever they were standing. He was dressed in his typical black uniform which was typified by the guards as well with two flanking him and the remainder patrolling the settlement.

"After lengthy discussion with the leader of the Grounders," he gestured to the African-American woman standing just off to his left, "We have come to an agreement, an agreement of peace between our two groups."

His gaze scanning the crowd to make it known that he was addressing everyone. "The terms are still to be finalised, but they have agreed that those by which they refer to as the mountain men, up on Mt Weather are our adversaries and not our friends." With a sweeping gesture with his hand he indicated to the settlement.

"For now we will remain here for the next day or so, but once we've got our plan to move forward from here sorted, we will move on. Now enjoy the food and company!"

As everyone went back to their conversations, Clarke who had not taken her eyes off of Kane saw him indicate to her with a gesture of his hand to come see him. She quickly looked over at Raven who just nodded and they both got up crossing the bonfire area to do so as she followed Kane into a nearby hut which had served as his quarters.

Once inside he turned to face Clarke and Raven, directing his question at Clarke,

"After the brief chat we had earlier today, I need you to tell me everything you can about Mt Weather," he begun gesturing with his fingers to count off the things he wanted to know, "The people, the layout of the bunker, the number of soldiers they have, exits and entrances, that sort of thing."

Clarke stepped over to the desk he had placed in the centre of the room, "Have you got anything to write with and paper to draw on? I can give you an overview of the layout."

He pulled out some paper he had stuffed in his back pocket, turning it over so the bank side was face up and retrieved some charcoal that he had and Clarke figured that it would have to make do.

She set about drawing each section and explaining along the way what each room was, the amount of their people that were still there and she could only guess at the number of soldiers there but it would have to do. After a few moments of silence after she'd finished explaining, councillor Kane finally spoke up,

"This has given me a lot to think about. But with the support of the Grounders it'll help but it will still be immensely difficult either way." He grabbed the plans that Clarke had drawn up and folded it up and placed it back into his back pocket.

"The Grounders should agree with making a move against Mt Weather as they want them gone also. We'll leave at first light and make our way back to the Ark and we'll take it from there."

With that Clarke and Raven were dismissed as they walked outside to find a place to look at the stars together, both having their thoughts straying towards the upcoming skirmish with the Mountaineers of Mt Weather.

**A/N:**

**Music that inspired the chapter**

**As part of the writing process, I've found that music often helps spark the creativity that leads to how certain scenes/scenarios will play out. In some cases, it helps generate an idea or a different way of approaching a scene. In other cases, I imagine the music in the background setting the tone for what is to come or the emotion/s felt by those characters or even just to lend some insight into what they would be feeling (e.g. fear with a darker macabre piece of music).**

**I decided to share the music that allowed me to bring to life my fanfiction and I hope you'll see what I mean if you listen to the songs. If you'd like to hear exactly in greater detail as to why these songs were chosen feel free to inbox me!**

**Songs: **

_Battle Cry - Mark J. Petrie (When Octavia & Grounders come to Clarke and company's rescue)_

_Magic - Coldplay (When Clarke and Raven are alone together at the Grounder settlement)_

**Congratulations you've reached the end of the chapter! Liked what you read? Didn't like it? Leave me a review as feedback is encouraged! I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head for this story but if you have a suggestion I'd love to hear it!**

**It's always nice reading reviews and each time I see that I have a new person follow or favourite the story or both it never fails to bring a smile to my dial so it's much appreciated because it makes it worthwhile knowing that there are people out there in the big wide world who are reading and enjoying what I've written.**

**Now for a bit of shameless self promotion. I have another story which I work on every now and then usually when an idea pops into my head. The story is called 'Octavia Blake: Girl on a mission.'**

**It's a story with a slow burn and may take awhile to get into especially seeing as there is only a couple of chapters in so far, but it was largely born out of a combination of seeing how distraught Octavia was when her and Lincoln got separated on an episode of 'The 100', watching a lot of the TV show 'Arrow' and the movie 'John Wick'. So if you've got a moment or two and have made it this far why not give it a look and tell me what you think.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a few days since the end of the small firefight that Clarke and company had had with the Grounders, specifically the tribe that Anya belonged to. Since that day a few notable things had taken place.

Firstly, Kane had managed to broker peace with a different tribe of Grounders who were willing to help the people of the Ark in their quest to free their people as well as any Grounders held in Mt Weather.

This had been a major milestone which would allow both sets of people to move forward. Since that day, both groups had made their way back to the Ark to plan and gather numbers. Clarke thought about this as she looked past the electrified fence that had been set up around the Ark recently as more Grounders continued to settle at least temporarily on the borders of the forest.

"There's a lot of Grounders out there," Raven said, her observation breaking the silence. Clarke tilted her head to look at Raven, pulling her closer in her embrace.

Now that she was enjoying a rare moment of peace since they got back, the last thing she wanted to be thinking about was the Grounders or what lay ahead.

"We're going to need every last one of them if we're to succeed," Clarke said in response. Raven tilted her head upwards slightly moving in for a kiss.

The soft feel of Clarke's lips on hers never failed to stoke her fiery desire for her girlfriend. The two of them had spent a few days since arriving back from the Grounder settlement enjoying some much needed R&R so they'd be ready and more capable for what was in store for them.

"You know she doesn't want you to go right?" Raven said referring to Clarke's mom as she tucked some of Clarke's hair behind her ears. Clarke stiffened as a scowl was etched onto her face,

"I hope she realises that she's not going to stop me," She waved a hand in exasperation; "I know the setup of Mt Weather better than anyone going. I'm the only one going that has been inside!"

Raven tapped Clarke on the nose as she said, "I know. It's really cute when you get angry." She sighed before adding, "I kind of wish you didn't have to go though either." Clarke pulled back in that way that a person does when someone says something shocking,

"Are you serious?" When she saw no change in Raven's expression or demeanour it set her off, "I know why my mom doesn't want me to go but why would you?" She looked a bit hurt by the end of her question.

"Well it's not that different to why your mom doesn't want you to go. I love you and I don't want to see anything happen to you," Raven at least looked bashful and was not meeting Clarke's eyes.

"How is it that you get to go but I'm not allowed to?" When Raven didn't look up Clarke lightly shoved her and that caused her to look up,

"By that logic neither of us should go, because I don't want anything to happen to you either Raven because God help me I love you too!" Raven put her hand on Clarke's arm but she shrugged it off and rose to her feet,

"I'll see you later Raven," was all she said as she left Raven wondering how the day had started off so well only to end up in her first fight with Clarke.

She rolled over onto her back to look up at the afternoon sky contemplating how she'd gotten here. She'd always been a girl who'd been strong and took pride in her ability to look after herself and to not have to depend on anyone. It definitely came as a shock to her when she realised that Clarke had been slowing eroding the wall that she had built up for so long. The wall which kept her feelings at bay, the ones which threatened to expose how much she cared about other people.

She found herself having her thoughts stray to Clarke more often than they didn't. Even when she was working on something in the Ark, she was prone to moments of distraction. She'd come to rely on having Clarke in her life, by her side as she knew she could count on her when she needed her most.

She didn't just have her back but she had her heart and soul and despite it making her feel more vulnerable than she had ever felt in her life before, Raven knew that she wouldn't trade what she had with Clarke for anything in the world. It was in that moment that she knew what she had to say or do the next time she saw Clarke.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Since Clarke stormed away from Raven earlier after their fight, she through herself furiously into her work which was her medical training. She walked straight into the medical ward and demanded to be put back to work to which Abby obliged.

Abby was pleased with the progress that her daughter was making as she watched Clarke practice her bedside manner as she wrapped bandages around an injured worker. There hadn't been too many injuries since the Ark had settled on the ground, it was mostly little niggly sorts of injuries that people had sustained when they were out gathering food and water or making repairs on the Ark itself.

"Okay, now you're all set," Clarke declared to a worker who nodded as she clapped him on the shoulder. She went about packing away excess supplies that she didn't use. Despite attempting to drown herself in work, her thoughts kept straying back to the fight.

'_Was I too harsh?'_ she thought as she could see Raven's shy demeanour in her mind's eye. She couldn't recall having ever seen Raven look that way and it started to make Clarke feel a little guilt.

"Is everything alright Clarke?" Abby asked as she walked over to her. She'd been watching Clarke for the last few minutes, firstly watching her work and then after the patient left. She could tell something was up.

"Raven and I had a fight mom," she said as she sighed and looked up slightly dejected.

Abby put her hands on Clarke's shoulders catching her eye,

"What was it about honey?" A look of genuine concern softened Abby's features.

Clarke scratched the back of her neck looking down at the floor behind Abby, "She doesn't want me to go when we get our people back from Mt Weather. I mean I understand why, but how could she not think or see that I'd feel the same way about not wanting her to go either?" Clarke's eyes started to go glassy, as she furiously wiped and errant tear away,

"Then I got mad at her and stormed off and I know she was hurt and it was my fault and I don't know what to do."

Abby pulled Clarke into her arms, a hand on the back of her head as she comforted her, "Oh Clarke, I hate seeing you like this." She was silent for a moment to allow Clarke to let her emotions out.

"When your father and I would fight, we'd get so mad at one another, even over the stupidest things, but you know what?" She pulled back so Clarke could see her face, "Because we loved each other we always made up and you and Raven will make up and come through this stronger than ever."

Abby was surprised at the force of Clarke's hug as she wrapped her arms around her. It brought a tear of happiness to Abby's eyes as this was a moment she'd waited for, for some time now. It also brought her hope. Hope that the fragile relationship that she still had with her daughter could be repaired. Clarke stepped back wiping tears from her eyes,

"Thanks mom. I think I know what I need to do and say."

Abby tilted her head to the side slightly, a smile appearing on her face,

"You know that you can come to me with anything Clarke. I'm not just the Chancellor but your mom too." Clarke nodded as she walked past her mom with a plan already forming in her head as to what she would do the next time she saw Raven which would be later that day.

Raven on the other hand, had spent awhile just laying on the ground feeling more than a little helpless. She hated that she'd fought with Clarke and she didn't like the feeling that had been sitting with her. When she was with Finn which seemed like an age ago, they'd never really fought, so this was new and unfamiliar ground that she was covering.

Part of her wanted to find Clarke and apologise to her, doing what it took to make it up to her. Another part of her wanted to give Clarke some space to cool down and then try to apologise to her then. As result, more by indecision than anything else Raven ended up given Clarke some space.

She first went to their room which they now shared and tried to keep busy, but ultimately kept trying to come up with the words she would say to Clarke later as she paced the room like a caged animal. Eventually she left to start patrolling the grounds as she'd been barred from resuming work much to her chagrin.

Instead she took mental notes of things she could fix, improve or come up with that would benefit the camp as she passed the time. When she couldn't bear it anymore, she headed to the medical ward thinking that, that might be the most likely place she'd find Clarke. Walking through the doorway more confidently than she felt, she only saw Jackson and Abby however,

"Where's Clarke?" She asked Abby as she came to a halt, her nervous energy coiled and ready for release.

Abby turned simultaneously stopping what she was doing to answer,

"I'm not sure where she went, but she was looking for you so she could apologise." Raven without waiting for further explanation, tore out of the room without a backward glance as she went back to her and Clarke's room. Stooping outside the door she took a deep breath, collecting herself before pushing open the door.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

As Raven pushed open the door, she saw Clarke put a book down and look over at her with a shy smile on her face. She had the blankets pulled up so it was covering all but her neck and head. Her clothes were neatly folded on the table across the room.

"Clarke I'm so…" Raven began before Clarke silenced her with her hand up stopping her mid motion too. She so badly wanted to cross the room and tell her how sorry she was but she'd let Clarke speak first as this seemed to be the way it was panning out.

"Raven I'm sorry I got so angry at you." She sat up but kept the blanket pulled up covering her. "Words can only express my apology so far so I wanted to show you how sorry I was and hope I could make it up to you." She let the blanket drop as she stepped out of the bed and Raven couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Clarke was standing there with nothing on except for red bra & panties that had a bow like you would find on a present on her butt. Raven's mouth was that wide she could have caught flies as she shamelessly stared as Clarke walked over to her suggestively until she was standing right in front of Raven.

This snapped Raven out of her stupor, "You've got nothing to be sorry for Clarke. I'm the one who should be apologising." Her eyes roamed Clarke's figure as her hands came to rest on her waist. "If this is where we end up after fighting, I don't want to not fight with you," she teased as Clarke blushed. Clarke leaned in and whispered in Raven's ear,

"So…are you going to unwrap me," her voice taking on a husky quality. She pulled back so that their noses were now touching.

"I'm so hot for you right now," Raven said in response, her voice barely a whisper as that was all she could manage at this point in time. Hungrily she crushed her lips to Clarke's as lust and passion took over and soon she found herself in only her black bra and panties. They were just about to take it over onto the bed when the sound of the door crashing open startled Clarke, her attention now snapping to the opening door.

"Hey you two! The councillors want you to come down to…oh my god!" Octavia screamed out as she took in the sight in front of her, both her friends in barely any clothes.

"What's up O?" Clarke asked, trying to keep her voice sounding level but failing due to Raven kissing her neck.

Octavia made a scene of covering her eyes with one hand and waving at them with the other. "Can you two stop for just a minute? Or at least put some clothes on!"

Raven stopped and after taking a step back from Clarke she ran a hand down Clarke's body before winking at her.

"What was the message O?" She asked as she put her arm around Clarke as they both faced Octavia.

"Oh right ummmm. The councillors want to see Clarke in the morning to talk about the Mt Weather raid and Raven you're needed in the workshop as they need help with something. I'll see you two lovebirds later," Octavia said as she turned and walked out of the room. Raven now focused her attention back on Clarke,

"Now…where were we?" she said tugging at the bow. Soon after she found herself lying on one side of Clarke, as they took their time apologising to one another in a physical manner.

"Is it always going to feel as amazing as that?" Clarke asked Raven as she was being held by Raven; her hand brushing lightly against her lightly toned stomach,

"God, I really hope so because I feel so alive and loved when I'm with you Clarke and I hope that never changes." They both just laid there silently for a moment appreciating the touch and comfort that they provided each other.

She nodded, "It feels like fireworks are being shot out of a volcano. It was so intense and loving and it feels so amazing." She leaned over pressing her lips against Raven's before whispering in her ear,

"You make me feel things I've never felt before. I'm never going to stop wanting to rip your clothes off." They kissed one last time for the evening before the bliss they were experiencing carried them off to sleep.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Clarke had slept reasonably well the night before and as she rolled over she noticed Raven was sitting on a chair watching her. Clarke yawned and stretched her arms above her head,

"What time is it?" She asked as she lay on her side looking over expectantly.

"It is now the morning and you're needed by the councillors," she leaned over to quickly kiss Clarke and as she got up and walked over to the table Clarke noticed something was different about Raven.

"Raven…are you wearing my clothes?" Raven turned around smiling and handed Clarke a bottle of water as she sat up.

Raven looked down and grabbed at the T-shirt she was wearing, "Yeah I thought I'd see what it was like. Plus," she said as she moved to give Clarke room to get out of bed, "I start back up working today, as they need my help with something really quick and I wanted to have something to remind me of you all day."

Clarke melted at Raven's sweet words as she pulled on the last bit of Raven's clothes. She spun around on the spot,

"How do I look?" Gesturing to herself using her hands.

"Like the sexiest mechanic I've ever seen, apart from myself," Raven said as they walked out of the room hand in hand. They held on walking backwards away from one another and Raven watched Clarke disappear around the corner. Raven, headed off to the workshop where all the engineers and mechanics worked and Clarke off the room where the council held their meetings.

As she walked through the door Clarke took in who was present, with councillor Kane being present, Major Byrne, Sinclair who was former chancellor Jaha's tech expert and Abby who was the current chancellor at the head of the table. Clarke also noticed that the leader of the Grounders Indra was also seated at the table to Abby's left.

"Glad you could join us Clarke," Abby said as she rose to her feet, "Let's get down to business." She gestured to the map that was spread out on the table in front of everyone present.

"Each one of you is here for a reason." She indicated to each of them as she spoke, "Major Byrne for her tactical knowledge and the fact that some or her soldiers will be on this mission. Kane for his liaison work with the Grounders and his appreciate wisdom and experience in the field. Sinclair for his input and tech savvyness that will allow a different perspective and for Indra the leader of the Grounders whose support cannot be thanked enough as well as the knowing the lay of the land as her people do."

Abby was going to continue on but Indra interrupted her,

"Why is this one here?" She asked as she pointed to Clarke. Abby stopped what she was doing in midmotion before addressing her,

"My daughter is here because she has been inside Mt Weather and come out alive to tell the tale. Her knowledge of the layout of the bunker will be invaluable." She looked over at Clarke then, a smile adorning her face.

Abby was so thrilled to have her daughter back. She'd been sick with worry when Clarke was sent down to Earth with the rest of 'The 100' and she'd even experienced that worry again when she took off after her friends who were at the Grounder settlement. But now when she looked at her, she was the proudest mom there was.

She'd noticed the changes in her daughter already. She was stronger of character and body, the harshness of the new world and having to learn to survive had done that to Clarke. She'd also seen the progress she'd made in regards to her medical apprenticeship and had no doubt that Clarke would make a fine doctor one day.

The happiness that radiated off of Clarke was hard to miss as well, and Abby had no doubt that was down to the love she'd found amidst the tough circumstances and trying conditions.

"Clarke, draw us a map and explain the layout of the Mt Weather Bunker," She said figuring that a visual of the target location would help them strategise. Clarke moved around the table to where Sinclair was seated and using his tablet, created a layout of the bunker and with his help they scaled the image up, so it was large for all to see.

"This is the mess hall here. Here is where the Mountain Men's sleeping quarters are," Clarke said indicating to the points on the layout as she spoke about them. "Over here is the medical ward which as you can see is a considerable distance from where everyone sleeps including the 47 of our people in there." She paused as she looked at each of the council members and Indra at the table before continuing.

"They have done this for containment and contamination purposes. They'd isolated all of us when they captured us to begin with to make sure we were safe to interact with the general population of Mt Weather. At key points in the bunker they have guards posted, specifically to the basement, the medical ward and a few other locations which were off limits."

She got Sinclair to highlight a portion of the layout, "Here is where I escaped from. There's a weak point that can be exploited from the medical ward that could allow our people to escape from. However, it leads out to a network of tunnels that tend to be populated by Reapers."

"Thank you Clarke," Abby said as Clarke took a seat. "How about the approach to Mt Weather Indra? What's the best way we can approach it?" Abby asked Indra.

Indra stood up so the attention now firmly shifted onto her, "These Mountain Men, do sometimes send out patrols but usually only when they have a good chance of capturing people who have strayed to close to the bunker, as they get sick fast, these Mountain Men."

With a sweeping gesture of her hands outward she continued to explain, "They have eyes everywhere on the Mountain. They might not know we're coming now but they will eventually."

Clarke stood up, "I don't think they do in the tunnels. It's too dark for the cameras to be reliable or at least they might not know it's us at first. I think that's our best way in."

Abby raise both her hands in a gesture for quiet before she addressed Major Byrne. "How about our defence and security situation Major?"

The Major leaned forward in her chair as she looked around the table, "We cannot give up too many of our personnel as we can't afford to spread our defence to thin. The citizens left here at the camp need protection too, so not many can be given up for this mission."

Abby nodded, "Agreed." She looked over at Indra once more, "How many of your people would be willing to aid us against Mt Weather. They have your people as well locked up, up there."

"I can find out, but a combined number of both our people should be enough," she replied.

Abby noticed the energy that Councillor Kane was giving off and she could tell that he had something he wanted to say, "What do you think Marcus? How do you think we should best approach Mt Weather given what we've discussed today thus far?"

Councillor Kane leaned back in his chair before he spoke, "I think going in the way Clarke described is the way to go," he said as he nodded toward her in acknowledgement.

"A small unit with a combination of our people and the Grounders should suffice as a smaller unit will be able to move around and avoid detection for as long as possible whilst maintaining the defence of our Camps respectively."

Kane enjoyed this role of his being the number two behind the Chancellor. He'd done it for quite awhile under Jaha and now under Abby. He had ambitions to be the Chancellor and lead as he had done briefly, but he still had a high level of influence in his current role and it suited him fine for the time being.

Abby looked around the table, "Shall we put it to a vote then?" Seeing nods in agreement she continued, "All in favour of the aforementioned plan?" All hands were raised at this, so without further adieu, the meeting was adjourned as the news was about to be spread about the mission on Mt Weather.

As Clarke walked from the room she felt the fire burning in her veins and she realised that it was from determination. Determination to get her friends back and away from the uneasiness that she experienced and then the evil that she discovered during her brief stay there.

'_They're going to get what's coming to them,'_ she thought as she looked in the direction of Mt Weather as she stood outside waiting and keener than ever to get started on this next adventure on Earth.

**A/N:**

**Music that inspired the chapter**

**As part of the writing process, I've found that music often helps spark the creativity that leads to how certain scenes/scenarios will play out. In some cases, it helps generate an idea or a different way of approaching a scene. In other cases, I imagine the music in the background setting the tone for what is to come or the emotion/s felt by those characters or even just to lend some insight into what they would be feeling (e.g. fear with a darker macabre piece of music).**

**I decided to share the music that allowed me to bring to life my fanfiction and I hope you'll see what I mean if you listen to the songs. If you'd like to hear exactly in greater detail as to why these songs were chosen feel free to inbox me!**

**Songs: **

_Irresistible - The Corrs (When Raven finds Clarke to apologise)_

**Congratulations you've reached the end of the chapter! Liked what you read? Didn't like it? Leave me a review as feedback is encouraged! I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head for this story but if you have a suggestion I'd love to hear it!**

**It's always nice reading reviews and each time I see that I have a new person follow or favourite the story or both it never fails to bring a smile to my dial so it's much appreciated because it makes it worthwhile knowing that there are people out there in the big wide world who are reading and enjoying what I've written.**

**Now for a bit of shameless self promotion. I have another story which I work on every now and then usually when an idea pops into my head. The story is called 'Octavia Blake: Girl on a mission.'**

**It's a story with a slow burn and may take awhile to get into especially seeing as there is only a couple of chapters in so far, but it was largely born out of a combination of seeing how distraught Octavia was when her and Lincoln got separated on an episode of 'The 100', watching a lot of the TV show 'Arrow' and the movie 'John Wick'. So if you've got a moment or two and have made it this far why not give it a look and tell me what you think.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

As it had been decided only the day before, a combined effort, a collaboration that is between the Grounders and the people of the Ark was going to take place with the purpose of getting their respective people back that were held in the bunker on Mt Weather. With only a few hours left to spare until they were heading off, Clarke and Raven were making the most of what might be the last time until after the raid on Mt Weather for some alone time.

The two of them laid there spooning, enjoying each others company,

"Had you ever been with another girl before me?" Clarke asked curious as she was about Raven's past. She herself had never been with anyone other than Wells and briefly Finn.

Raven pulled Clarke around so she was now facing her,

"Nope. I'd only been with Finn before you," she answered as her mind begun to cast back as she remembered the times they'd shared. Clarke put a hand on her cheek, drawing her in for another kiss. She could never get enough of Raven and the feel of her lips on hers. She bit down gently on Raven's lower lip, as her face glazed over with obvious and unadulterated lust.

"Do you remember how stubborn you were when I first starting helping with your rehab?" Clarke asked her as her mind wandered back to those early moments.

_Raven sat on the examination table waiting with her arms held onto said table as if she was ready to push off and leave. She'd been feeling antsy and energetic, just wanting to get out of the medical ward already and do something useful, like finding her friends. Abby had examined her quickly as per usual and instructed her to wait there before disappearing. _

'_She's already been gone for a few minutes. What could be taking so long?' Raven thought with a grumble. The door swung open and her gaze snapped to it as Abby had returned with Clarke in tow. 'Finally a familiar face to get me out of here,' she thought, 'Even if it is Clarke.' _

_She still had a frosty relationship with her largely due to the whole stealing her boyfriend thing that had gone on while she was still floating in space. Abby and Clarke had come to a stop in front of Raven, _

"_Good news Raven! You're free to go now, but there is one last thing I should mention before you're on your way." Abby placed a hand on Clarke's shoulder and squeezed lightly, "As part of her continued medical apprenticeship and your rehabilitation Clarke is going to shadow you to aid you in your recovery and to make sure you're alright." _

_Anger flashed across Raven's face and she lifted her arms to assist in her protest but Abby cut her off, _

"_My decision as your doctor and Chancellor has been made Raven. I can't be with you 24/7 and it helps both you, me and Clarke out." She placed a pair of makeshift crutches against the side of the examination table. Looking back at Raven she said, _

"_I have other issues to attend to. So I'll leave you in Clarke's capable hands. If you have any questions, queries etc ask Clarke and she can let me know as she will be reporting to me everyday." With that Abby left the room and it was just the two of them._

_Clarke peeked up at Raven who wore an expression that hinted that she was less than impressed; her posture gave that impression as well with her arms crossed. _

"_Listen Clarke. I don't need help. I don't need these crutches and I certainly don't need anything from you." Raven pushed herself off the table and after only momentarily staying on two feet she crumpled to the ground wincing and letting free a gasp of pain. _

"_Here, let me help you," Clarke said as she got down on one knee and slung Raven's arm around her shoulder, pushing up with her legs to lift Raven back up onto the examination table. As soon as she was seated again, Raven shrugged her off. _

"_Look Raven, I know you don't want my help and you're mad at me but let me help you." Clarke grabbed the crutches in her hands attempting to hand them to Raven who pushed them away. _

"_Haven't you done enough helping? You 'helped' take my boyfriend away from me and look where that has gotten both of us," she said raising her voice. Clarke threw the crutches to the ground,_

"_Do you think I don't feel bad about that? Don't you think I feel even worse now that he's out there in danger looking for me?" Clarke retorted angrily turning away as she begun to tear up. She snatched up the crutches and shoved them into Raven's arms._

"_I want to be out there going after our friends. I keep trying to get past the guards and leave the camp to go to them but I can't. I'm just as much a prisoner as you. Even worse is the fact that I'm now stuck with someone who doesn't like me and can't see that her friends need her and only want to help her which is what I'm going to do whether you like it or not."_

_Raven's mouth opened in shock as she was not used to people throwing back some of the fire with which she lashed out at the world with. She pushed herself onto two feet, supporting herself now with the crutches as Clarke begun to explain some of the exercises she'd be getting her to do and Raven realised that she may just have the wrong impression about Clarke. She startled herself to find that she'd even developed begrudgingly a little respect for her. _

"Of course I remember, I was so stubborn," Raven said with a laugh, "But I also realised that I may have been wrong about you and I'm glad I was," her expression now serious as she looked deep into her eyes as she smoothed some of Clarke's hair.

"You fought me every step of the way, even told me to hurry it up as I was being too soft on you," Clarke said with a genuine smile, "I wonder what that Raven would think if she saw you now you softie," she continued as she placed her forehead against hers, the pose speaking volumes for the love they felt for each other.

"I don't think she'd mind too much. After all, that Raven fell for you in the end." She caressed Clarke's body with feather light touch which only increased the desire of both of them.

"I love holding you in my arms like this. It feels like I'm a puzzle piece that's found the piece she connects with." Clarke was finding that she felt that way too and if she was being honest with herself, she knew that she'd fallen for Raven pretty hard and pretty quickly too.

She never wanted to lose this feeling; she never wanted to lose her and never wanted to be separated from her partner in crime. Her thoughts however became less coherent as she was lost to the pleasure that only her partner could give her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was business as usual for the rest of the Ark as they watched those going off on the Mt Weather offensive leave the safety that the electrified perimeter provided. They'd organised the offensive into four separate teams each comprising of 8 members each and the groups each had a specific purpose to fulfil on the mission ahead.

"Just to run through the plan again quickly, the teams are as follows: Team A will be led by me and will consist of Indra and these soldiers from both my people and Indra's," Abby said indicating where appropriate.

"Team B will be led jointly by the Blake siblings, Bellamy and Octavia. They will be joined by Murphy and Monroe and selected Grounders. Team C will be led by Councillor Kane and will consist of my daughter Clarke, Raven Reyes, Finn Collins and these soldiers." She took a deep breath before the final announcement.

"Team D will be led by Major Byrne and she has selected her team individually. Teams B & C will go into the Mt Weather bunker to retrieve those being held. Team D will remain outside the Mt Weather bunker to liaise with Team A and relay messages due to the short range of the radios and to provided extraction backup when Teams B & C emerge from Mt Weather. Any further questions?" She asked as she finished up looking around at those assembled in front of her.

When no further queries were brought up, she dismissed them with a wave of her hand. The teams begun to assemble and after some last minute checks, they marched onward to Mt Weather to face the inevitable.

As the first checkpoint was reached in a small clearing not far from the Ark, 'Team A' began to set up base camp to prepare for the offensive. Clarke approached her mom to say a final goodbye as it was going to be the last time they saw one another until it was all said and done.

"Even though I wish you didn't have to go and there was another way, be careful Clarke and come back okay?" Abby asked her.

It seemed that her life had consisted lately of a large amount of emotional goodbyes with her daughter and it was never easy being a parent, especially sending your only child off to war and not knowing whether she'd be coming back. It had caused her to lose some sleep that's for sure.

"I will mom and we'll bring our people back," Clarke answered as she hugged Abby, gripping her tightly and trying to keep her emotions in check.

Despite everything that had gone on between them, things had been better lately and Clarke would still miss her mom. Clarke grabbed her weapon back off of Raven and with one last glance and a smile; she joined the rest of her team and the other two teams as they continued onto Mt Weather.

As they approached the second checkpoint, not far from where they planned on separating from 'Team D' did Octavia notice that something didn't seem quite right. "Hold up for a minute everyone!" She called out as she took a couple of strides in front of all the teams. She looked this way and that before crouching down and looking at the slightly damp Earth.

"Something is definitely up," She said more to herself than anyone else. Having been traipsing through the landscape firstly with Lincoln and then on her own, she'd begun to get a better lay of the land and she understood clearer than the rest with the exception of the Grounders present that the animal inhabitants came and went as they pleased, making noise and tracks, general indications that they had passed through. She saw none of that and the eerie silence didn't mean anything good.

"What's up O?" Bellamy asked her as he strode forward to stand a couple of feet away from her his rifle pointed at the ground in a casual manner. She turned her head to look at him and explain when,

"It's the Burning Mist!" Cried out a Grounder who Clarke couldn't remember the name of as she saw him point behind Octavia. The distinctive brown colour associated with the Fog/Mist was the first indication as it rolled down the incline of Mt Weather as each team scrambled to get to cover or create some by hastily assembling a tent or just throwing it over themselves as protection.

Clarke and Raven dived for cover under their tent which wasn't assembled and both girls had a mini heart attack when it was lifted and they were joined by Finn,

"I hope you don't mind. It was either this or have my face burnt off," he quipped as Raven shrugged and put her arm around Clarke drawing her closer to herself. It didn't sound like everyone had gotten under cover in time as screams tore through the air, but with nothing they could do they just had to wait it out and hope it was none of their friends who didn't make it in time.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After what seemed like at least a couple of hours, Clarke lifted away the tent and was met with nothing but fresh air, the fog having diffused, now meaning it was safe outside. She helped Raven to her feet and Finn brushed himself off as they took in the landscape that surrounded them.

It appeared that no one else had risked leaving their cover yet but looking around, the three of them could see who hadn't even made it to safety when the fog rolled in. Bodies of Grounders and Ark soldiers alike were strewn across the ground their weapons long forgotten on the Earth beside them.

They were slumped and unmoving, some even in awkward and visibly painful positions, as what they had suffered was still marked on their faces. Exposed skin was covered in angry red blotches reminiscent of welts from burns.

Clarke turned away but not soon enough as she landed on her knees and begun to dry retch and knew deep down she'd see these images when she next went to sleep. They did however force her into action as she rose to her feet.

"Raven, start collecting weapons, supplies and anything else of use from the dead, as they won't be of much use to them now." She looked over at Finn, "Start letting everyone know that it's okay for them to leave the shelter they took. We need to keep going."

Raven squeezed her hand lightly as she walked passed her and Clarke started to pack away the tent they'd stayed under during the fog. She looked up at the canopy above to see the sunlight starting to break through and hoped that it was a good omen of things to come.

After taking an assessment post fog, all three teams had casualties, with 'Team C' being the worst hit with only 4 of the 8 members still alive and ready. The other two teams fared better with 6 of the 8 members making it to cover from the fog in time. The remaining supplies were redistributed evenly amongst the members of each team and they prepared to set off.

"What are we going to do about all those people that died?" Clarke asked Councillor Kane who was after all the most senior figure present. He turned to look at her with a small sense of impatience.

"We leave them. There's nothing more we can do for them and we need to keep moving." As he turned away from Clarke she grabbed his arm so she had his attention once more.

"Aren't you at least going to radio my mom and get some people to take them away; give them a proper burial? They probably have family back at the Ark whether they're Grounders or not. People that are worried about them and want to know what happened to them."

He seemed to consider her words for a moment before pulling out his radio, "This is Marcus Kane, Chancellor Do you copy?"

After a few seconds and some crackling by the radio Clarke heard her mom's voice come through, "This is Chancellor Griffin. Go ahead Councillor Kane." Kane quickly relayed what had happened and Clarke's suggestion. Clarke waited as the silence meant her mom was weighing her options. "Team A will move out to retrieve the dead before resuming the original position. Good luck Kane. Over and out."

As the tunnels that teams B & C would have to enter came into view, 'Team D' came to a stop to set up their base camp before wishing the two entering teams luck. Both teams lit torches as they entered the dark and cavernous tunnels for the first time and Clarke shivered remembering her first and only experience in them.

Kane stopped them with an outstretched hand, "Remember the plan. Both teams stick together until we enter the bunker and then we go our separate ways." He looked over at Clarke, the light of the torch illuminating his face.

"You've been here before Clarke so lead the way," he added. Clarke stepped forward in front of the group taking hold of the torch offered to her. The 10 members of both groups combined moved in a diamond formation with a torch bearer at the front and the back of the diamond.

"These tunnels are populated with Reapers so keep an eye out and don't attract their attention or engage them unless absolutely necessary. The quieter we are the better," she said her eyes peeled on the path in front of her.

Clarke didn't claim to be an expert on these tunnels and it was easy to get lost in them. She paid particular attention to the walls to see if she could remember and identify which way she came from.

"Monroe! Mark the walls so we know which way we came from for the trip back," Clarke called out and Monroe who was at the back tip of the diamond nodded before scratching the word 'Clarke' on the walls every so often.

Clarke tried to use her best judgement when it came to the direction in which they were heading, as in the direction that would take them toward the bunker but inevitably they were going to come across a divergent scenario sooner or later. Standing there for a moment or two to decide she weighed her choice carefully. _'If it leads to a dead end we can always double back,'_ she thought.

"Which way do we go Clarke?" Raven asked as she quickly placed an arm around her waist. Clarke appreciated the brief comforting and it allowed her to make her decision firmly.

"Mark down that we went left Monroe." After hearing no reply, "Monroe?" Turning around she saw that the back half of the diamond had frozen for a moment and she could see why.

"RUN!" Yelled Finn as Reapers had begun to flood the narrow tunnel, having spotted potential prey. Both teams quickly took the left tunnel not having much choice otherwise. They could hear the growling and grunting noises behind them getting closer.

As she pumped her arms harder and faster Clarke, her heart raced as her pulse thrummed under her skin and her breathing became heavier. She began to notice familiar markings on the walls and this was accompanied by the sound of crashing water that could only be coming from one thing,

"We're almost there," She called out to the group around her and as they rounded a corner she saw the door to the bunker one way and the very same waterfall she jumped off in her initial escape.

However, the bunker door had opened and Mountain Men were pouring out. She led anyone was near her toward the waterfall and as the turned around forming an inverted 'V' formation, the Mountain Men pointed their guns at them.

"Drop your weapons and hands up!" Barked one of the Mountain Men. Octavia was the first to put her weapon down slowly and she was soon followed by the others. Everyone though had forgotten one thing.

One of the Mountain Men turned but was too slow as he was set upon by a Reaper and this momentary distraction was all they needed as Clarke & company picked up the weapons at their feet and begun firing on those in front of them.

Eventually there was nothing but a pile of Reapers and Mountain Men. Kane motioned them forward, "This won't have gone unnoticed. Let's get inside!"

Both teams followed him around the corner running into another Mountain Man. With so many guns pointed at him, he relinquished his weapon as he was marched back towards the bunker door.

"Open the door," Kane asked him, controlling his voice and projecting authority in his words. The Mountain Man glared and shook his head. Kane looked back the way they'd come and saw Reapers heading towards them. He roughly shook the Mountain Man,

"You can either stay alive and deal with us or get eaten by them. Your choice."

He hastily entered the code into the keypad and the door swung open slowly as the teams piled in. They grabbed the other side of the door, the effort taking several of them to pull it shut. As soon as it was closed, they could hear the pounding of bodies against the door, the Reapers upset that they had just missed out on a meal.

Bellamy drove the butt of his rifle into the temple of the Mountain Man that had admitted them into the bunker and Kane nodded at him. Bellamy looked over at Clarke,

"I didn't think it'd be a good idea with the noise to shoot him, plus I didn't think you'd like it if we killed him in cold blood like that," he offered in the way of an explanation. She nodded at this as both teams decided to split into even teams of five as they begun the descent into the bunker.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Both teams headed down the long staircase as quickly as they possibly could, relieved to find that it was for the time being deserted. They reached a door about halfway down and Clarke pulled them all to a halt.

"This leads through to the medical ward. It isn't usually guarded but be wary," she said as she swiped the access card she'd picked up off the Mountain Man they'd knocked out earlier and when the small red light turned green, the door slid open and she followed 'Team B' into the ward.

"Over here is the grate that I crawled through to get to the Grounders who were in the cages," she continued as she pulled the grate open. She grabbed Bellamy by the forearm his eyes now focused on her face,

"Good luck and get them out as quickly as you can." With that, she rejoined the rest of her team out in the corridor. They'd fanned out to cover all the directions so as to not get taken by surprise.

Kane had fished out a map of the layout that Clarke had drawn and a pen, "So this is where we are now," he said as he marked on the map with an 'X' where they were. "This is where we need to get in order to get our people out," he continued as he drew a line from where they were to where they needed to go. He looked over at Clarke and with a gesture of his hand said, "Lead on."

They arrived at the bottom of the staircase and paused at the corner; Clarke peeked around and saw two soldiers positioned outside a doorway that they needed to get through. She figured the best bet would be on the element of surprise. She motioned to the Grounder who was the 5th member of the team to come and join her. He was a taller boy who couldn't have been much older than her, with a darker complexion and muscles forged from working the land.

"The two of us are going to try and take out the soldiers at the end of the corridor and once we've fired, move to the side so that those behind us get a chance to shoot, okay?" She asked him and taking his nod as his agreement, she begun a countdown,

"On three, 1…2…3!" Clarke and the Grounder stepped around the corner and she had her gun up and fired and his spear sailed through the air, burying itself into the chest of one of the soldiers. The other soldier, who was unharmed from Clarke's attempt, smashed a red button on the wall next to him and fired on the Grounder, hitting him between the eyes.

The lights went out in the corridor and a shrill alarm sounded every few seconds. Throwing herself to the floor, Clarke gave Raven the opportunity to fire on the remaining soldier who crumpled to the ground moments later. She looked over and quickly recoiled when she noticed the blood beginning to pool on the floor from the Grounder who was until a moment ago part of their team.

Finn offered her a hand up which she gratefully accepted and once relieving the soldiers of their keycards they moved through to the next room. Thankfully there was no one in the next room and from memory Clarke knew they were getting closer to where they rest of 'The 100' were housed.

The four remaining members moved in formation with Clarke at the front, Kane at the back and Finn & Raven on either side. As they continued down a different corridor, Clarke was beginning to get unnerved by the lack of a Mountain Men presence,

"Does this seem a little too easy to anyone?" She remarked as she kept walking forward and her eyes ahead.

"Well now that you…ahhhhhh!" Raven was interrupted in mid speech, her scream muffled as Clarke whipped around to see a panel in the wall rise up vertical and she was pulled through before it slammed shut.

"Raven!" Clarke yelled as she beat on the wall to no avail. She hung her head briefly before turning around to see she was alone with just Kane. At her look which was clearly confused he said,

"Another panel opened up on the other side and they took him too," was all he said. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "We'll get them back, just keep going." He offered in the way of encouragement.

She knew they were getting close even though there was nothing distinguishing about this part of the bunker. The walls were still the same grey utilitarian colour and her eyes had adjusted to the darkness as well as the shrill sound of the alarm. Up ahead was a fork that led to two different ways. One towards the living quarters for 'The 100' and the other to the mess hall.

Just as Clarke & Kane begun to walk towards the living quarters the PA system came to life,

"I was wondering if you wouldn't mind joining me for a bite to eat Clarke, all your friends are here already after all," came the voice of president Dante Williams out of the speakers that lined the cornices on the ceiling.

Knowing that it was most likely a trap, but left with little recourse, Clarke & Kane turned towards the mess hall instead and upon opening the door Clarke was greeted by a chilling sight.

President Williams was standing the centre of the mess hall flanked by soldiers; all the chairs and tables having been pushed to the sides and he had several of her friends with their hands tied and on their knees, one of the closest to him and in front of him was none other than Raven.

"How lovely to see you again Clarke, it is a shame it has to be under these circumstances though," he said as several soldiers raised and pointed their rifles at Clarke & Kane.

**A/N:**

**Music that inspired the chapter**

**As part of the writing process, I've found that music often helps spark the creativity that leads to how certain scenes/scenarios will play out. In some cases, it helps generate an idea or a different way of approaching a scene. In other cases, I imagine the music in the background setting the tone for what is to come or the emotion/s felt by those characters or even just to lend some insight into what they would be feeling (e.g. fear with a darker macabre piece of music).**

**I decided to share the music that allowed me to bring to life my fanfiction and I hope you'll see what I mean if you listen to the songs. If you'd like to hear exactly in greater detail as to why these songs were chosen feel free to inbox me!**

**Songs:**

_Love at First sight - Kylie Minogue (Clarke and Raven love scene at the start of the chapter)_

_Invasion on the Mississippi River - Jesper Kyd (When the Acid Fog is released)_

_SWAT Team - Jesper Kyd (Chased by the Reapers in the tunnels)_

**Congratulations you've reached the end of the chapter! Liked what you read? Didn't like it? Leave me a review as feedback is encouraged! I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head for this story but if you have a suggestion I'd love to hear it!**

**It's always nice reading reviews and each time I see that I have a new person follow or favourite the story or both it never fails to bring a smile to my dial so it's much appreciated because it makes it worthwhile knowing that there are people out there in the big wide world who are reading and enjoying what I've written.**

**Now for a bit of shameless self promotion. I have another story which I work on every now and then usually when an idea pops into my head. The story is called 'Octavia Blake: Girl on a mission.'**

**It's a story with a slow burn and may take awhile to get into especially seeing as there is only a couple of chapters in so far, but it was largely born out of a combination of seeing how distraught Octavia was when her and Lincoln got separated on an episode of 'The 100', watching a lot of the TV show 'Arrow' and the movie 'John Wick'. So if you've got a moment or two and have made it this far why not give it a look and tell me what you think.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

The tension was thick in the room, so much so that even a blunt knife could have cut through it as Clarke faced down President Williams. He was dressed impeccably in a white suit with cufflinks and a blood red tie.

He had a pistol in his right hand pointed at the ground but the fact that both Raven and Finn were bound at the hands and on their knees on either side and in front of him was not a good sign. He gestured to two of his soldiers nearby,

"Take him and his weapon. Clarke and I need to have a one-on-one chat," he said as the soldiers obeyed his orders to the letter. Kane was now bound at the hands and shoved roughly to the ground behind President Williams.

"We just want our people and then we'll go. Please let us go," Clarke said taking a step forward unconsciously. This caused the soldiers to aim squarely at Clarke's chest.

"Easy now," Williams said with an outstretched arm which he let drop and his soldiers lowered their weapons slightly. "Deep down I think you know that that isn't really an option now don't you Clarke?"

Clarke had begun to suspect that this may have been the case because when it came down to it, what other option did he really have? On top of the fact that he'd used his power to make sure that Clarke didn't leave Mt Weather the first time around and now that she was back he wouldn't let her go so easily this time.

"So what is it that you want exactly?" She asked, the defiance evident in her posture and tone.

"Well it's really quite simple," he replied as he begun to pace slowly, "We," he gestured to those Mountain Men around but was referring to all of them collectively, "Need what you have in order to survive. But…" He turned and stopped so that he was once again facing Clarke,

"We can't go outside to round up the rest of your people. They're simply too far away and the length of exposure to the radiation would be too much even with our treatments and this is where you come in my dear."

He took a pistol, an old classic pistol from a nearby soldier and cocked the gun so it was ready to fire swapping it with the one he originally had. "You're going to get the rest of your people to come back here so we can do what's necessary for those in Mt Weather to survive."

President Williams had always been a man who appreciated the classics. There was nothing like a good vintage and given that he was one of the oldest people alive in Mt Weather, he was one of few people who could appreciate relics from the past. But he could also see the value and the need to move forward and progress which is what the people of Mt Weather needed to do in order to survive.

Clarke shook her head; it was utter madness to think she'd go along with such a thing, "Why exactly would I do that?" She asked as she raised her rifle back up, only to have the soldiers focus them all at her solely now.

President Williams, who was now standing in between Finn and Raven who were still on their knees, pointed the gun at Raven's head, "You'll have the right motivation, that's why you'll do it."

Clarke flinched when he lightly pushed Raven's head aside with the barrel of the gun,

"Stop! She yelled out raising a hand and lowering the rifle with the other, "I'll do it. You don't have to kill her."

Clarke couldn't believe the guile that he possessed as he stood there smiling at her. She knew that something wasn't quite right when she woke up in Mt Weather and about him. She never managed to settle in his presence in her short stay and behind all the charming smiles and polite, thoughtful gestures a scheming mastermind was at work.

"It might not even be her that gets killed Clarke," he swung the gun around so now it was pointing at Finn's head. "I don't think it's motivating enough using a perceived threat. No, you need to see that what I'm saying is very true."

His stare seemed to pierce her skull as the weight of his gaze grew heavier as the next words tumbled out of his mouth. Each one carefully selected and delivered for maximum effect,

"Finn or Raven? Who's it going to be Clarke? One of them will die before you leave this room. The choice is yours."

"If I refuse to choose then what?" She asked as her heart begun to beat wildly out of fear.

"Then they both die."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Clarke let the rifle sag even more towards the floor and then asked, "What do you need from us specifically?"

She needed time. Time to think, time to plan, then time to execute. The thing about time though is that whenever you desperately need more, there isn't enough.

"What we need my dear is everything and anything about you that makes it so that you are able to survive the radiation. Now time to pick Clarke." He had switched to pointing the gun at Raven again.

Clarke took in the surroundings but there wasn't much that she could use to aid herself. She wondered what had happened to Bellamy and the rest of 'Team B' as she hadn't heard a peep over the radio ever since they parted ways at the medical ward. Were they even still alive?

She knew she had to chance it, to buy some more time using the only currency still available to her, known as distraction. She knew there were cameras everywhere throughout the bunker so they'd know about Bellamy and the others.

"What about our friends? How do we know that you haven't killed them or worse?" Her eyes flicked to the ceiling quickly and then darted around the room.

He looked thoughtful for a moment, putting a hand on his chin and gazing upward slightly, his gun hand completing the gesture by coming to a rest at his waist with the gun pointed at the floor,

"That's right. You don't know. Which still leaves us here."

"Clarke! Come in Clarke! If you can hear me, we're already at the evac point, where are you?" The radio crackled into life as Bellamy's voice came through loud and clear, giving Clarke all the confirmation she needed.

Raising the rifle toward the ceiling, she fired a handful of times and in doing so, severed the chandelier from the ceiling, sending it hurtling towards the floor with President Williams still standing underneath. Clarke dived and with a roll came up on one knee firing towards the soldiers as they returned fire.

Raven and Finn had managed to roll out of the way awkwardly to avoid being hit by the chandelier, but the glass shattered everywhere.

"Clarke? What's going on? I heard gunfire. Where are you?" Came Bellamy over the radio once more and Clarke realised that in taking measures to avoid getting shot, the button she had to push to talk on the radio must have gotten pushed which would explain at least why Bellamy was confused.

The soldiers who weren't returning fire had begun to set up tables to provide cover for themselves as one begun to escort President Williams away. He didn't look like he could support himself.

Meanwhile, Raven had managed to get to her feet and was coming over toward Clarke who had taken cover using one of the thick poles that connected between the floor and the ceiling.

Time seemed to slow down as a soldier shifted his aim from Clarke to Raven who was unaware of his nefarious intentions. Clarke had that moment of realisation where she knew she'd never be able to stop him in time.

As he pulled the trigger his aim went wide as Finn slammed into him doing anything to save his friends in that moment. Her eyes widened as she saw President Williams line up a shot for Raven's back. Acting on nothing but pure instinct and adrenaline Clarke grabbed a hold of Raven's shoulder, pulling her to the ground as the shot went off.

Pain blossomed in her left shoulder as she looked down to see her shirt staining crimson. She touched the entry wound with a shaky hand and pulling it away, leaving blood on her fingertips. Her gazed drifted back up to Williams as he fired again and again catching her in the chest two more times sending her toppling to the floor.

The cold hard floor provided no solace as she struggled to breathe, as she flirted with unconsciousness.

"CLARKE!" Raven screamed out as the anguish, fear and worry came pouring out of her. Raven's mind kicked into overdrive and without even thinking about it, she dislocated her thumb so she could slip out a hand from the way she was bound and leant over Clarke.

"Don't you go anywhere! No one dies today!" She said to Clarke as footsteps approached. Swinging around and seeing a gun but not having one herself, she covered Clarke to protect her from further fire. She lashed out at the nearest shin and was rewarded with a grunt of pain.

"Jeez Raven settle down will you," came the annoyed and slightly hurt voice of Bellamy Blake.

"Sorry," she offered in the way of an apology as she looked back at her paramour who was fighting for her life. Snapping into action, she knew that they didn't have much time if they were to save Clarke, "Get Abby on the radio or get her here as Clarke needs help."

Raven looked around and to her relief; Finn was okay as well as Councillor Kane, the other member on her team. Bellamy was there along with Octavia and Murphy but the other members of their team were nowhere to be found.

She did however notice that they remaining soldiers in the room were dead and the Blake siblings had been joined by some that they'd managed to rescue. Councillor Kane came running over quickly and placed his rifle on the ground next to Clarke,

"The Chancellor would kill me if I let her daughter die on my watch," he said as he used his hands to apply pressure to the wounds and stem the blood flow. Raven was relieved that someone was tending to Clarke as she wanted and needed to take action to save her.

The others in the room she recognised as Miller, Jasper & Monty and had no clue as to the girl Jasper was holding hands with. To the right of them was another guy she'd seen once or twice around the camp when she joined up with 'The 100' but didn't catch his name.

He was a tall guy who had reached six foot she was sure of that or was at least around that mark. He had dirty blond hair, clothes had become ripped and bloody, no doubt from a skirmish and green eyes which were staring at Raven as if he could see something that the others couldn't.

Raven was shaken out of her momentary trance by Clarke gripping her hand firmly, "Raven…" was all she managed to get out weakly before her eyes fluttered dangerously close to closing.

"We need to get her help now," she turned to Bellamy, "Any luck getting Abby over the radio?"

He shook his head and Raven let out an exasperated sound as she was beginning to lose it. She whirled around looking at everyone and anyone in the vicinity, "Does anyone have any ideas?" As she searched each face for a hint, any hint of help.

It was the mysterious boy who spoke up, "I know a way of how we can save Clarke but we need to do it now," he said as his eyes locked onto Raven's and she nodded hope beginning to blossom in her chest.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

As soon as those words were out of his mouth, "…we can save Clarke," Raven immediately crossed the floor to stand directly in front of him and she didn't waste any time,

"Tell me how and what do I need to do?" She asked.

He gestured to Clarke, "There's not enough time to bring the medical help to her. So we bring her to the medical help."

Raven was a little confused at first by his cryptic remarks. "What medical help? Abby is too far away so it won't make a difference if we bring the help here of take her to it," she said as the brief glimmer of hope in her chest begun to die.

The boy appeared unperturbed by her outburst as he clicked his fingers, "Give me a hand will you Monty," and not waiting for a response, he walked over to one of the overturned tables and with Monty's help, righted the table which Raven noticed was on wheels. The boy turned back to Raven,

"There is medical help here. I know where the doctor is; we just have to take Clarke to her and get her to help us," he said to her.

"How exactly are you going to get her to help? Why would she care if Clarke dies?" Bellamy asked, voicing what everyone was thinking as he stepped forward in the boy's line of sight.

"You'll see when we get there." He stopped mid step towards Clarke before adding, "Let's just say they'll get a taste of their own medicine." With those cryptic remarks he and the others helped to careful lift and then place Clarke on the table. Bellamy pulled Raven aside, whispering to her,

"Do you even trust this guy? I mean I know he was on the Dropship but who is he really?" he asked her, his hand on her forearm as he diverted her attention to his face.

"He's giving us a chance and that's more than Clarke had a moment ago and we have little choice."

She turned and walked away from Bellamy as they strode out the door and pushed Clarke out into the hallway as Miller and Monty were leading the procession down the hall, with the boy waiting patiently in front of them. Kane was still keeping pressure and a close eye on Clarke's condition.

He led them down a series of twists and turns' making sure that the coast was clear before waving them on. Eventually he brought them to a stop outside a doorway,

"Okay the doctor is in here," he said as he turned to open the door using a keycard Raven grabbed his arm,

"Where is here and what's your name?" She asked him, as much curious about him as she was about the rest of the plan. He swiped the keycard at the door which opened and with a flourish gesture he pronounced,

"This is the room where they store the medical supplies," and he added as they pushed Clarke through the door on the table and everyone followed in, "It's where I kept the doctor and her son for safe keeping."

He walked over to Doctor Tsing who had been bound at the hands and gagged. He removed the gag and used a knife to cut the material which bound her hands.

"Hi Doctor Tsing, you remember me don't you? My name's Josh and I need your help," he said as he pulled her unceremoniously to her feet. Her appearance was slightly dishevelled but apart from that and the fact that she had no footwear, she looked like a doctor. _'Well that at least puts a name to a face,'_ Raven thought.

"See my friend over there?" He pointed to Clarke on the table which was wheeled over by Jasper, Raven, Monty and Octavia. "She got shot a few times and you need to save her life."

The doctor just glared at him which caused him to sigh. He walked over to her son and pulled out a bowie knife which he placed at her son's throat. "Help her and you and your son gets to live. I don't need to explain the rest."

Raven watched as the two of them were locked in a bitter standoff, neither giving an inch until Josh nicked Doctor Tsing's son under the chin and a small line of blood appeared. She blanched, visibly going pale before holding her hands up in surrender,

"Okay! Alright! I'll help your friend!" She said as she turned around and got to work. The wait was agonising for Raven as she watched the doctor go about gathering the supplies she'd need and then going about her work in a slightly shaky but otherwise professional manner.

She looked over at that boy, Josh who was still holding the doctor's son and it got Raven wondering. Why did he have the doctor and her son hidden away and tied up in the medical supplies room? There was more to the story than he was letting on and she was going to find out.

After what seemed like hours and in actuality was, the doctor sighed in relief and turned around to face Josh, "Okay, she's stable for now but she's lost a lot of blood. She needs time to recover."

Raven let out a huge sigh of relief, as those words were music to her ears. She looked up from the ground and saw Josh bind the doctor by her hands again before placing her and her son back in the corner. He walked over to look at Clarke and Raven joined him. They both stared down at a sedated and resting Clarke.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Raven continued to watch over Clarke for the next few minutes but knew that the time would come that they would all eventually have to leave Mt Weather and head back to the Ark. As she looked around the room, she could see that everyone was helping themselves to some time to rest as it had been a long day so far.

The alarms had long since stopped and some of the lighting was back online. They hadn't heard or seen anyone else from Mt Weather ever since they had moved to the medical supplies room to get Clarke the medical attention she needed.

"How's she doing?" Finn asked as he came to stand by Raven. She looked up at him and he offered a wilted smile.

"She's doing better. She looks so peaceful. But she'll pull through; she's a fighter my girl is," Raven said, the pride and love evident in the way she spoke about her.

Finn had been watching Raven for awhile as she stayed by Clarke's side and he could see just from the way she acted around her that she was 'all in' with Clarke. From the top of her head to the tip of her toes, head over heels, do anything for that person kind of love. He admitted to himself that he was a touch jealous of that fact but then shook himself mentally for being stupid.

He begun to think that things not working out between himself & Raven and him & Clarke was the best thing that could have happened for them both as they might not have found the way to each other otherwise and for that he was glad.

"Why don't you go and rest for a minute? I'll stay and keep watch over her," he offered and she reluctantly nodded. The last few hours had been particularly exhausting on her and the chance to rest for a few minutes sounded really good at that moment to her.

She walked across the room with a tired element to her movements and took a seat next to Josh, who had been seated by himself until now. He looked up at Raven and smiled scooting over slightly as she leant back against the wall.

The two of them sat there in silence for moment and it wasn't an awkward one. It was a silence that was all about letting go and allowing the mind to process everything that had gone on. Eventually though Raven broke the silence,

"Why did you have the doctor and her son in this room bound like they were when we found them?" She asked as she turned to look at him.

It was something that had been in the back of her mind and had been pushed even further back because of her concern for Clarke, but with Clarke seemingly in the clear and by being near him, her curiosity peaked once more.

"Doctor Tsing had been less than altruistic most of the time we were in here, all 47 of us," he was looking straight ahead and Raven could tell that whilst he was here, his mind was elsewhere.

"We didn't realise it at first because it was just little things. A bit of blood here, some DNA there; nothing special or harmful." He put his hands out indicating those things but gesturing at thin air.

"Our people starting disappearing, one-by-one and not consistently either." He looked over at Raven now,

"They always gave us some perfectly acceptable reason but we never saw them again." He pointed over at Clarke, "You love her, yeah?" he asked already knowing the answer which was further confirmed by Raven's nod.

"The doctor killed someone I love, someone who was just trying to warn us after she'd overheard something." He looked down at the ground and Raven was unsure what to do or whether she should say something. The choice was made up for her as he continued on,

"Her name was Keenan and she was one of their own people that lived here in Mt Weather. They even tested on some of their own. That's why she was in here. I was going to give the doctor what was coming to her until Bellamy and company needed help so I left them here and tagged along."

Raven could see the sadness and anger that radiated off of him in a strange mixture of emotions but it was something that she understood all too well. It was the look and emotions that meant you'd do whatever it took for the person you loved. She placed a hand on his arm which caused him to look closely at her,

"I'm sure she'd appreciate everything you've done for her. I know I sure do because if it weren't for you, Clarke might not still be here."

He smiled at her words, feeling better than he had in a long time. Raven saw the smile slide off of his face to be replaced by a glare and she turned to see where his anger was directed at and unsurprisingly it was at the doctor.

"What are you going to do with her?" She asked her gaze now back on his face.

"Death would be too kind for her and I don't want her blood on my hands. I think it's only fitting that she experiences what she subjected Keenan to." When he eyed the quizzical look on Raven's face he further explained,

"Seeing as she was fond of seeing how well her pre-emptive solutions on surviving the radiation are, we'll see how long she lasts when she comes outside with us."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

With Clarke still resting and not able to move all that quickly it was decided that she'd be carried at least until they'd cleared Mt Weather completely and even when they were outside of the tunnels inhabited by Reapers as they could afford to take their time from then onwards.

After some debate it was decided that Josh would carry Clarke at least part of the way and then they would decide who would take her after they'd reached the tunnels outside the bunker.

All in all though, the mission to Mt Weather had not gone as anyone had expected as very few lived to tell the tale from the 47 that had still been inside and those that had entered to retrieve them.

Of those that had entered to carry out the mission, Bellamy, Clarke, Raven, Octavia, Finn, Councillor Kane and Murphy had all survived. Bellamy's team had managed to set free some Grounders who had been locked up but having been interrupted in the process that number wasn't as high as it could have been.

Of the 47 that had been rescued only Miller, Jasper, Josh, Monty had all survived and after much insistence by Jasper they were joined by Maya who he claimed was no longer susceptible to the effects of the radiation outside the bunker.

They'd barely made up the numbers that they'd entered with, but having put a considerable dent on the plans of those in charge in Mt Weather everyone was ready to put this ordeal behind them. Raven certainly was after what she'd been through.

The keycard was swiped and the door opened as everyone begun the trek back to the Ark. The door having been left open as no one saw any reason to shut it. As Finn came through the door last they were taken by surprise by the sound of a struggle which resulted in Finn being held with a gun to his head by none other than President Williams.

Everyone turned to see him slowly taking Finn towards the waterfall that one path led down. The rays of the afternoon light were still filtering through as President Williams came to a stop on the edge of the waterfall.

"I only have one demand to make," he looked Raven square in the face as he said this, "Give me Clarke and this all ends now or the boy dies."

He was cleverly using Finn's body as a shield so that no one could get a clean shot off. Raven was paralysed in the moment, not seeing a way that she could save both Finn & Clarke.

Josh nudged Raven on the shoulder with his, which successfully gained her attention,

"Do you trust me Raven?" Looking at her for confirmation she nodded. He nodded not at her but as if he'd made his mind up.

"Then when you get an opportunity to take a shot, you shoot. Do you hear me?" he asked her, his laser like stare demanding her understanding. He began to walk away from her but she pulled him back,

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to save Clarke and Finn," was all he said as he turned around and continued walking over to President Williams. He stopped a short distance away,

"A simple exchange then. Clarke for Finn. She can't stand on her own so I'm going to have to bring her over okay?" He stated and asked. President Williams waved the gun quickly in a hurry it up motion before returning it to underneath Finn's chin.

As Josh got close enough, President Williams pushed Finn away and Josh placed Clarke at his feet. Williams still had his gun pointed at Finn and it was a make or break time. Josh could see it in his eyes that he was going to shoot Finn so he lunged across and grabbed the weapon, wrestling it toward the ceiling.

A shot rang out but it only dislodged some rock on the ceiling as the President and Josh continued to wrestle for the gun. Finn went over to Clarke scooping her up and moving to the side of the tunnel, making his way back to the group.

Raven continued to watch the struggle in earnest, but still no clear opportunity became available, as the President was crafty enough to stay behind Josh. Raven had her high powered rifle trained on where his heart would most likely be, just waiting for the opportunity.

She saw the president's torso peek out from behind Josh for a moment and she pulled the trigger. The enclosed nature of the tunnel concentrated the sound that the rifle made when the bullet was fired. It instantly stopped the struggle as it sunk into Josh's chest sending him twisting to the side and stumbling back.

His momentum was going to take him over the falls and Raven could see his eyes were still wide in response to the force of the bullet slamming into his chest and the shock and surprise that comes with being shot unexpectedly.

His arms reached out as if trying to grab onto something to stop himself from falling. He was clutching at nothing but thin air and the President's gaze turned back to the group, specifically on Clarke.

It would be to his downfall as with one last grasp, Josh grabbed onto the collar of the President, pulling him over the falls with him and they soon dropped out of sight. Raven quickly dashed up to the edge and saw the rippling the water had made when they'd plunged into it.

She saw nothing but President Williams's white suit jacket floating on the surface of the water and a tinge of red that the water at the point of entry had begun to be coloured with.

Everyone was looking at Raven expectantly and she simply announced, "They're both dead."

She looked back out over the waterfall as the dying rays of sunlight were still cast across the land below, the shadow thickening as the sun continued to set. She could only wonder what next was on the horizon of this adventure which had become their lives.

**A/N:**

**Music that inspired the chapter**

**As part of the writing process, I've found that music often helps spark the creativity that leads to how certain scenes/scenarios will play out. In some cases, it helps generate an idea or a different way of approaching a scene. In other cases, I imagine the music in the background setting the tone for what is to come or the emotion/s felt by those characters or even just to lend some insight into what they would be feeling (e.g. fear with a darker macabre piece of music).**

**I decided to share the music that allowed me to bring to life my fanfiction and I hope you'll see what I mean if you listen to the songs. If you'd like to hear exactly in greater detail as to why these songs were chosen feel free to inbox me!**

**Songs:**

_Beneath the Surface - Jesper Kyd (When President Williams tells Clarke she has to choose who has to die)_

_Emotion in Motion - J.A. Maxwell-Saunders (When Clarke is involved in the shootout in Mt Weather)_

_VR Room - Jesper Kyd (When Clarke gets shot multiple times in Mt Weather and sees the blood on her hands)_

_Skyfall - Adele (When Josh gets shot and falls from the waterfall)_

_Opposition - Jesper Kyd & Fired Earth Music (When Raven looks out over the waterfall after the Mt Weather raid)_

**Congratulations you've reached the end of the chapter! Liked what you read? Didn't like it? Leave me a review as feedback is encouraged! I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head for this story but if you have a suggestion I'd love to hear it!**

**It's always nice reading reviews and each time I see that I have a new person follow or favourite the story or both it never fails to bring a smile to my dial so it's much appreciated because it makes it worthwhile knowing that there are people out there in the big wide world who are reading and enjoying what I've written.**

**Now for a bit of shameless self promotion. I have another story which I work on every now and then usually when an idea pops into my head. The story is called 'Octavia Blake: Girl on a mission.'**

**It's a story with a slow burn and may take awhile to get into especially seeing as there is only a couple of chapters in so far, but it was largely born out of a combination of seeing how distraught Octavia was when her and Lincoln got separated on an episode of 'The 100', watching a lot of the TV show 'Arrow' and the movie 'John Wick'. So if you've got a moment or two and have made it this far why not give it a look and tell me what you think.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

Several months later and life had been relatively normal of late for the people of the Ark. Those that had survived the assault on Mt Weather had returned home, bringing those rescued with them and they'd enjoy a period of peace and stability with the Grounders.

Both groups of people had prospered as they'd begun to share knowledge and resources in the spirit of peace and moving forward. Many of the residents in Camp Jaha hadn't thought such a thing would have been possible but were relieved nonetheless.

Clarke was not confined to her bed but was only on light duties, meaning she'd get through her work reasonably quickly before her day was done. Her mom was in full blown mom mode, meaning that despite Clarke's injuries having healed, she was still trying to wrap Clarke in cotton wool and be overprotective.

She was sitting outside in the sunshine with a sketchbook and pencils that Finn had found on a raid of a bomb shelter he'd discovered and she was drawing whatever came to mind. Ever since coming down to Earth on the Dropship, she'd seen many things that she'd only ever seen as images on screens and that she tried to recreate by drawing herself.

But having the chance to experience them and see them right in front of her face was something else. The sketchbook that she now had was almost full of landscapes, animals and people that she'd seen and wanted to capture in a way that only art could.

"Hey babe, what are you drawing?" Raven asked as she took a seat on the log next to Clarke, wrapping an arm around her.

"Oh…it's nothing," she replied rather sheepishly. Raven could see that she was blushing a little bit and this only furthered her desire to see what she'd drawn. Clarke had pulled her sketchbook against her chest to stop Raven from seeing what she'd drawn, but after a round of playful tugging at the book, she relented and showed her.

On the page Clarke had drawn a statuesque figure that was wearing only her bra & panties. She was gazing out with a pensive expression on her face and this was topped off by the large pair of angel wings that she was sporting as well. Clarke had given the image colour to really bring it to life and it was captioned underneath by the words 'My Angel'.

Raven looked at Clarke full on now and Clarke wasn't meeting her gaze. She placed the sketchbook down and turned Clarke's face towards her until her eyes were on her.

"Is that…me?" She asked her and at Clarke's shy nod continued, "Is that what you think of me?" Again Clarke could only nod at this as she was unsure what Raven would think of her sketches.

She dropped her hands and looked away, "I'm not as good as you seem to think I am Clarke."

For the last few months Raven had been getting less and less sleep ever since that final encounter with President Williams. That moment where she shot Josh, that boy who'd done so much in a short space of time to save both Clarke & Finn and she'd killed him. She couldn't shake that last look that was on his face when he'd realised he'd been shot.

She was haunted by it and wracked with guilt over what she'd done. It was one thing to do what you had to do in order to survive by eliminating those who meant to do you harm. But when you took the life of someone who'd done nothing but help you, it was something else entirely.

As much as she hated to admit it, every time she looked at Clarke she was reminded of what she'd done even if she'd been able to put aside the guilt and pain for awhile. Once she realised that she'd forgotten about it, she'd feel worse for not remembering his sacrifice.

"What's up Raven? What makes you say that?" Clarke placed a hand on Raven's thigh and began to rub gently back and forth in a comforting sort of way.

Raven sighed as she looked back at Clarke, "I was just thinking about that boy, Josh who I killed on Mt Weather, you know the boy who saved both you and Finn."

Clarke could tell that she was troubled by this and she hated it. She hated seeing the pain and the grief that her best friend, her one love was going through. She hated seeing the sadness on her face and she wanted to do anything and everything to take it away and replace it with the sunny and sarcastic exterior that Raven usually radiated.

"Hey! Look at me Raven," when she refused to turn her head Clarke cupped Raven's face so she couldn't look away.

"From what you told me about it, he knew what he was getting into. He knew the choice he'd made and without that I wouldn't be here. Finn wouldn't be here either and I wouldn't get to be with you and do this," she said as she brought Raven's mouth to hers.

She showed her just how much she enjoyed every moment she had by putting everything into the kiss. Her tongue coaxed Raven's mouth open allowing her greater access. Their tongues danced alongside one another as her passion and eagerness drew Raven out of her shell.

She could feel Raven's hands slide up her shirt and her touch only ignited the situation more. Drawing back more because she needed to take a breath, Clarke traced Raven's lower lip with her tongue and gazed into her eyes. Both girls were breathless having been swept up in the moment, everything else lost to them and unimportant in that moment except for each other.

"Clarke I…" Raven begun but was silenced by Clarke putting a finger on her lips which she used to trace them with.

"Without his sacrifice I'd never have been able to enjoy another moment with you. I never would have been able to show you just how much I love Raven Reyes. Which is why…" Clarke said as she reached into her pocket pulling out two silver rings and deftly slipping one onto Raven's ring finger, "We're going to make a promise to one another," she continued as she slipped the other onto her own ring finger.

"I promise to always be there for you Raven, through the ups and downs, good times and bad. I don't need to tell you how much I love you. I don't think of anyone else but you and after all we've been through already, you and me is meant to be. Besides, if I lose you I'll die an old, grey and lonely girl."

Raven was shocked speechless by Clarke's admission. She knew how much she loved Clarke but she didn't realise the level to which Clarke felt about her. As she looked into Clarke's eyes and saw the wry smile on her face from her joke at the end it brought a smile to Raven's face and tears to her eyes.

She'd never felt anything like this before and as much as it frightened her it excited her as well. Wiping away her tears she tried to maintain her tough girl image.

"Damn you Clarke for making me feel this way and making me so girly." She continued to look into Clarke's expectant face and realised what was missing in this situation. "I promise Clarke. For now and always."

Those were the words Clarke had been hoping all day long to hear from her. Ever since she'd thought long and hard about this and came up with the idea she had been immensely nervous. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders and she couldn't remember a time when she'd felt better than this.

Her eyes had become watery as well because of the happiness she was feeling and she drew Raven in for a hug. They were content like that for a moment when,

**BANG!**

A loud explosion sounded someway into the forest, well beyond the borders of Camp Jaha. It startled both the girls as they broke apart and looked out at the forest, smoke already beginning to rise above to tree line. They looked back at one another and knew that they had to go see Abby because if there was one thing they definitely had to do, it was that they needed to check out the explosion to see what it was about and who or what caused it.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A conference of sorts had already started as Clarke & Raven walked into the room where the council had their meetings on a regular basis. Abby as the Chancellor was already there, as were Sinclair and Kane.

Abby looked away from what she was doing to take in her daughter's appearance,

"What's the matter Clarke?" She asked as Sinclair and Kane resumed the discussion that had been ongoing as Abby crossed the room to stand in front of her daughter.

Clarke, who had one hand in Raven's, used the other to gesture in the direction of the explosion,

"That explosion, we need to go investigate it to see what caused it and what it could possibly mean," she said, keener than ever to stretch her legs outside of the camp.

Abby nodded, "Well that is what we've been discussing just now," she gestured to Kane & Sinclair behind her, "With the threat of Mt Weather eliminated and the Grounders to our knowledge, not possessing the ability to make explosives, it's definitely something we need to look into," she said as Major Byrne strode into the room.

"Chancellor, the leader of the Grounders, Indra is at the gate and wants to speak with you. She's says it's urgent and has something to do with the explosion."

At these words, the Major had everyone's attention. If the Grounders had an idea as to what was going on, then it would make the jump from planning to action a whole lot faster.

"Okay then, escort her here immediately Major." The room became a flurry of activity as anything not related to the explosion was packed away and everyone present took seats at the table as they waited.

Before long, the door opened revealing the Major who let Indra walk past her and into the room before shutting the door behind her. Everyone in the room straightened in their seats. It was Abby, who spoke up first,

"Welcome Indra. Major Byrne informed me that you had some information regarding the explosion that happened earlier this afternoon."

Clarke had noticed that something was off about Indra's demeanour ever since she entered the room. She hadn't yet taken a seat and it seemed to Clarke that she was trying to keep one emotion in particular in check. Anger.

"When the first lot of my people went missing I thought it was most likely a rebel faction of other people of the ground." She paused to take in a breath. "But now this! This! Who else could have the done this?" She gestured wildly and frantically to indicate the explosion before continuing, "Who else could have done this but your people!?" She yelled slamming a hand on the table.

Abby flinched slightly as did Clarke and Indra's actions and unbridled fury. It was Clarke however that spoke up,

"What reason would we have for doing that? We didn't risk our lives to save our people and yours from Mt Weather and we didn't agree to peace with your people just to go back on that."

Clarke herself was getting heated at that accusation. She barely made it out of Mt Weather alive and had the scars to prove it on her chest. Raven began to rub Clarke's arm soothingly even if she did agree with what she was saying and loved seeing her partner so passionate.

Indra however was not to be dissuaded from her beliefs,

"Maybe you did it, so we'd lower our guard around you people from the sky, so you could slowly remove us one by one." She looked around the table but focused that last part particularly as she looked at Clarke.

Abby rose to her feet, unwilling to take it lying down either and she had to hide a smile that threaten to come in at an inappropriate moment as she realised that her daughter was very much like her in that regard.

"Indra! That is enough!" She enunciated every word to place emphasis and control her own building anger. "We will send a team out there to investigate this, but I can promise you that we had nothing to do with this at all."

Indra turned and stalked out the already open door as Major Byrne had opened it and was observing the interaction once the yelling had started. With a quick nod to Abby she shut the door behind Indra and escorted her off the camp grounds.

Abby sighed for a moment before addressing everyone that is present,

"This investigative team needs to be a small one that can quickly assess and report on the findings in a timely manner." She turned to Kane, "You originally brokered the peace agreement between our people and the Grounders. I want you to use that relationship to smooth things over for the time being."

He nodded and headed off to his own quarters to begin planning what he'd say and/or do. Abby now turned to Clarke,

"I want you and Raven to assemble a small team. Pick only a few people with a variety of skills that you think will help determine what happened. I need this wrapped up quickly Clarke."

Even though Clarke was over the moon at her mom asking her to carry out a mission as official as this one, when she normally would have tried to stop Clarke from doing such a thing, she felt compelled to ask,

"Why are you sending me out there mom?" She asked as she got to her feet as did Raven.

Abby could tell that Clarke was more than a little surprised at these developments given how hard she'd fought to go on previous extracurricular activities sanctioned in the past but it all came down to one thing,

"I need someone leading that team that I can trust."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Immediately after that impromptu meeting had disbanded, Clarke & Raven had set to work. She sent Raven off to get stuff ready for the both of them and alert anyone she saw along the way who they'd quickly agreed should come with them.

The team that they'd assembled only consisted of six members. Herself, Raven, Octavia, Bellamy, Finn & Murphy. She'd picked them all based on what they could bring to the table in getting this sorted and investigated quickly.

Raven, for reasons besides just being Clarke's girlfriend. Her previous experience with bombs and mechanical mind would prove valuable if there was anything to find. Octavia, because she knew these woods just as well as anyone having travelled through them extensively.

Finn was the main tracker and if there were any clues left behind as to who may have done this, or where they came from or went to after leaving the area, he'd find them. Bellamy and Murphy were there largely as the guns as Clarke knew that they could handle themselves and they needed someone to be on the lookout. Besides, Bellamy was not going to let Octavia go off without him so they were a package deal in that sense.

The instructions were simple. Go to the site. Find any evidence as to what happened and who may have caused it and return to present the findings. It was for this reason and the fact that they didn't plan to be gone for long that she instructed them all to pack lightly, only taking the bare necessities.

This was particularly important not just because of the time factor but also the atmospheric conditions. It was a particularly warm and humid day, so excess weight and equipment would tire them out faster, making progress slower.

They were equipped with a radio so they could report anything immediately if necessary or if they were in danger to Monty & Jasper who were to stay at the camp and monitor the airwaves.

Clarke was waiting by the entrance to Camp Jaha and had been joined by all the members of her team except for Raven. As soon as she began to wonder where she could be, she looked up to see he approaching and her jaw dropped at the sight.

Raven walked over carrying a pack and a rifle for Clarke as well as her own pack but it was what she was wearing that had Clarke gob smacked. She was dressed in short shorts that were a light brown in colour that was slightly faded. At either side of her waist were two holsters that housed a pistol each and the straps that connected the holsters in place could be seen more clearly against her legs.

She wore a top that exposed a small section of her stomach and each hand had dark brown gloves which covered all but the ends of her fingers and thumbs. Her hair was in its usual ponytail style and her combat boots were laced up and topped off the badass image she gave off.

Handing Clarke her pack like nothing was a miss she smiled as she saw the effect she had on her girlfriend. Snapping out of her daze, Clarke instantly knew why the look she was sporting was so familiar,

"You looked through my sketchbook didn't you?" She asked her as her eyes continued to drink in her appearance.

"Well yeah that, plus it's hot and well I look pretty badass," she replied as Clarke took her rifle from Raven.

"Forget badass, although it's true. Sexy seems too tame a word," Clarke said as she pulled Raven's body against hers.

Bellamy coughed loudly, "I hate to break this up, but it was you that said we needed to move quickly Clarke."

Clarke looked a little embarrassed at this and blushing at little she stepped away from Raven, who only smiled even more. She loved that she had that effect on Clarke and it only increased her own desire when she knew that Clarke was thinking suggestive thoughts about her.

The team quickly strode towards the gates which were opened by the guards manning them and before long they were running through the tree line, which shaded them and gave them a temporary reprieve from the sweltering temperatures as the canopy above blocked some of the harsher rays from the sun.

Clarke wasn't sure what they were going to find once they reached site of the explosion, but after witnessing the rage of Indra, the Grounders leader, she hoped that they could find something to appease the Grounders and keep the peace between them and the people of the Ark.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Even though they'd been making good time, it still took a couple of hours to reach the site of the explosion. As they approached ground zero, they'd noticed the discernable lack of life and Clarke put it down to the explosion and whoever was here had been threatening enough that anyone nearby, man or beast was decidedly scarce where this area was concerned.

As soon as they pushed through the last of the trees, vines and any other form of plant life which was between them and the clearing, the group took in the sight in front of them. The Earth was scorched from the heat given off from the explosion and any trees that had been close enough were charred black.

The scent of smoke still hung in the air, but it wasn't all of this that was the most disturbing thing about the site. Laid out across the clearing were a number of bodies that were distinctly lifeless. This snapped Clarke into action,

"Okay fan out everyone. You know what your roles are which we discussed on the way over here."

Bellamy and Murphy took up separate positions on opposite sides of the clearing to keep an eye out as the patrolled the perimeter. Clarke, Raven, Finn and Octavia begun to sweep the site, looking for anything of interest to them.

Clarke went over to the bodies and checked the pulses quickly, more out of habit than anything else but it only confirmed what she'd already suspected. These people, who were dead, were as Indra claimed in that they were Grounders. There appeared to be no pattern in regards to age or gender as men, women and children were among the dead.

They were all shirtless but otherwise clothed and they had markings carved into their torsos. At first Clarke didn't think much of it, until one of the bodies appeared to have an 'E' carved into it and another had an 'A' carved into it.

"These bodies aren't burned and there are no signs of shrapnel or anything to suggest they were in the explosion," Raven commented as she had come to crouch next to Clarke having completed her own assessment of the bodies.

Clarke had a prickly sensation on the back of her neck and she began to scan the tree line around the clearing. She just had the strangest feeling that they were being watched. Bellamy and Murphy showed no signs of having recognised a threat as they continued patrolling, so Clarke shook it off as a brief moment of paranoia.

"There are tracks leading out this way," Finn pointed in the direction they led to as he called out to them.

"There's not much over here but some animal tracks and the odd footprint, nothing to suggest they went this way," Octavia called out from the side of the clearing opposite to Finn.

Clarke's mind began to work feverishly as she put all this information together. What did it all mean?

"The explosion itself was simple enough. It's not that different from our one we created using the rocketfuel. Use an accelerant, light a fuse and boom!" Raven said as she mimed an explosion with her hands.

The radio attached at Clarke's hip came crackling to life as Monty's voice tore through the silence,

"Clarke can you hear me?"

Clarke reached down and brought the radio to her lips, pushing the button on the side so she could talk,

"Got you loud and clear Monty, go ahead," she replied.

"Have you guys found anything yet?"

"We're just processing what we've found so far…" Clarke's voice trailed off as her eyes moved slowly across the first line of bodies, "They were placed here…"

It was at that moment that she realised that the first line of bodies if you placed the letters carved into each chest next to each other spelt a word, LEAVE.

"Clarke? Are you there?" Came Monty through the radio once more.

"Hang on a second Monty, I think I've figured something out," Letting go of the button on the radio she turned to Raven and said, "Do you think you could climb one of those trees and read out the message to me?"

Raven gave her a quick kiss before setting off and climbing the tree. She was awestruck by the view especially from being able to see things from a different perspective but soon turned her gaze downward to read the message which said,

**LEAVE NOW BOTH OF YOU.**

Raven relayed the message onto Clarke who figured it could only mean one thing. Knowing that the Grounders wouldn't have started killing themselves and leaving messages and that the residents of the Ark didn't do it, then who did?

Someone had obviously gone to a lot of trouble to set up and then display this message for them to find and given the display in front of her it was a threatening message to say the least. She relayed the message onto Monty who asked her himself what she thought it meant.

"It means that someone else is here and they don't like us or the Grounders."

**A/N:**

**Music that inspired the chapter**

**As part of the writing process, I've found that music often helps spark the creativity that leads to how certain scenes/scenarios will play out. In some cases, it helps generate an idea or a different way of approaching a scene. In other cases, I imagine the music in the background setting the tone for what is to come or the emotion/s felt by those characters or even just to lend some insight into what they would be feeling (e.g. fear with a darker macabre piece of music).**

**I decided to share the music that allowed me to bring to life my fanfiction and I hope you'll see what I mean if you listen to the songs. If you'd like to hear exactly in greater detail as to why these songs were chosen feel free to inbox me!**

**Songs:**

_Breathless - The Corrs (Clarke and Raven's kiss that leaves them both breathless)_

_Slaughterhouse - Jesper Kyd (When Clarke sees the dead Grounders when leading her team to investigate)_

**Congratulations you've reached the end of the chapter! Liked what you read? Didn't like it? Leave me a review as feedback is encouraged! I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head for this story but if you have a suggestion I'd love to hear it!**

**It's always nice reading reviews and each time I see that I have a new person follow or favourite the story or both it never fails to bring a smile to my dial so it's much appreciated because it makes it worthwhile knowing that there are people out there in the big wide world who are reading and enjoying what I've written.**

**Now for a bit of shameless self promotion. I have another story which I work on every now and then usually when an idea pops into my head. The story is called 'Octavia Blake: Girl on a mission.'**

**It's a story with a slow burn and may take awhile to get into especially seeing as there is only a couple of chapters in so far, but it was largely born out of a combination of seeing how distraught Octavia was when her and Lincoln got separated on an episode of 'The 100', watching a lot of the TV show 'Arrow' and the movie 'John Wick'. So if you've got a moment or two and have made it this far why not give it a look and tell me what you think.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

It had been several days since the team led by Clarke had investigated the mysterious explosion deep into the nearby forest and after careful examination of the site and what they found there, they were no closer to identifying who it was that set off the explosion. They did however have a good guess as to why though.

Outside the borders of Camp Jaha, tensions were mounting as news of further Grounder disappearances became known. A tangible nervousness could be felt in the camp as its residents felt wary about stepping outside its borders given the hostilities that the Grounders had begun to show.

It was for this reason along with the fact that the Grounders could attack at any moment that Clarke came to her mom, the Chancellor, to suggest what she thought was the only course of action worth pursuing at this point.

"When we were out at the bomb site investigating, we found tracks that could belong to those responsible. We need to go check it out," she said as she made her case to her Abby.

To say that Abby was wary about sending her daughter outside the camp when the Grounders were less than friendly and after an unknown foe was a gigantic understatement. She was beginning to understand to a greater degree what it meant to be Chancellor over the last week or so.

Having to make the big decisions that would affect not only herself but every single man, woman and child at the camp. Knowing that their lives were in her hands and there was very little margin for error. To top it off, trying to be a single mom who had to balance her work as well as her duties as Chancellor and a headstrong teenage daughter, she felt that sometimes she never got a moment to herself anymore.

"I appreciate your eagerness to help Clarke, but with the situation as delicate as it is, I don't want to send you out there where the Grounders could easily take you away from me for good," her tone of voice left no room for discussion.

But she should have guessed that Clarke was not a girl, who gave up easily,

"So what then mom? We just wait here hoping the Grounders either kill us quickly or change their minds?" She retorted sarcastically, her facial expression conveying how ridiculous she thought inaction would be.

Abby stood up from where she was seated, her tone beginning to match that of her daughter's,

"You know that I won't just sit here and do nothing Clarke. I just plan on sending another team out instead."

Clarke took a few steps forward so that she was standing directly in front of Abby now,

"If it's such a risk to send my team and myself out, then why are you sending another team out then?" Her voice raised even more then.

"Because the other team is not my daughter!"

They stared at each other in silence for a few moments as they each took deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. It was the first argument the two of them had had in quite awhile and it was not something Abby liked doing. It did however get her mind thinking about the problem in a slightly different way.

"My team investigated the site for you. We know the forest better than anyone else here, please just let us follow this through," Clarke said as she leaked a little bit of pleading into her voice.

Abby turned to face the window and gaze out at the surrounding countryside. She was worried that if sending out a team to investigate further yielded nothing they'd be in an even deeper spot of bother than they already find themselves in.

However, she figured if she sent Clarke and her team out to investigate and the Grounders attacked, she would at least be safe being a considerable distance away from them. She turned around to face Clarke once more,

"You're right Clarke. Your team should get the chance to see this through and you do know the forest better than anyone here. I want you to take some extra members so you've got more protection for all of you."

She crossed the room and placed her hands on Clarke's shoulders,

"Come back to me safe and sound okay? I love you Clarke."

"I love you too mom."

Abby pulled Clarke into a hug which was going to be their last one for awhile but she certainly hoped that it wasn't going to be the last ever as she relished holding her daughter close more now than ever given everything she'd been through since being sent down to Earth.

As Abby pulled back and took in her daughter's face, her hands slid down and took Clarke's hands. It was then that she noticed the ring the Clarke was now wearing.

"What's this?" She asked genuinely curious about the band of silver her daughter was wearing, curiously on her ring finger.

Clarke tried to brush it off as she was not sure what her mom would think. But Abby was not going to give up so easily. Looking at Clarke seriously now she said,

"It obviously means something Clarke. You didn't think I'd notice it was on your ring finger? I have one too after all."

She raised her hand which still had the ring her husband gave her the day they were married. Looking at it briefly reminded her of the love and pain that it symbolised simultaneously. Clarke looked a touch bashful as she attempted to explain,

"Raven and I made a promise to one another that we'd be together forever and the rings that we both wear symbolise that promise." She looked up to see what her mom's reaction was. Abby had a wistful expression,

"Oh Clarke don't you think you're a little young to be making such promises? Forever is an awfully long time honey."

Clarke pulled on her mom's hands gently as she tried to make her see the truth to what she was saying,

"I love her mom. I can't imagine life without her with me. Besides isn't that something similar to what you told me once about the way you felt about dad?"

Abby only sighed and pulled Clarke towards her once more kissing her head before pulling her into another hug. She knew then that even if this was the last time she saw Clarke that at least they were leaving on good terms and that Clarke would be surrounded by friends and someone she loved and cared about and felt the same way about her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Without wanting to waste any further time given the circumstances being what they were, Clarke rounded up the rest of the original six member team as well as Miller, Monty, Jasper & Maya to make it an even 10 that were going to pick up the trail of the anonymous bombers.

The extra numbers were a result of not knowing how long they'd be gone for and well safety in numbers, larger numbers that is. Not to mention that the increased distance would make radioing back to the Ark redundant and the simple fact that Clarke was instructed to take greater numbers.

Once they reached ground zero, not a lot had changed since the last time they visited, but the group took a much needed break whilst allowing the new members of the group to look at the site bringing fresh perspective and insight in the event that anything was missed the first time around.

Finn also looked to reconfirm the tracks and general sense of direction he'd established the assailants had gone in so they'd have a clear sense of where it was they were heading. It was Finn closely followed by Octavia who were going to lead the group on this next part of the journey as their knowledge of the forest and tracking ability naturally came in handy.

As they followed the tracks closely, it was clear to see that you didn't need to be much of a tracker to figure some things out,

"This path…it looks like it's used a lot," Finn mentioned as he gestured to the ground whilst still taking in the surrounding area from the corners of his eyes. It wasn't a path per say that they were travelling along, more like a section that experienced enough foot traffic that a path had been created as a result.

"Hey Finn! Check this out!" Came Octavia's voice as she called out from tree she was standing next to. She'd scouted ahead and was a short distance from the group.

Everyone present caught up to her quickly to see what she had found out. Carved into two different trees on either side of the path was a symbol that to Clarke looked like a wave with a storm cloud above it and from the cloud a bolt of lightning was striking the surface of the wave.

"What do you think it could mean?" Bellamy asked of no one in particular, voicing a thought which was on everyone's mind.

Clarke knew from her studies of the Earth and in particular where the Dropship was supposed to land, that they were on the eastern coast of the United States of America, specifically in the state of Virginia.

She also knew that given the location of the landing site of the Dropship and the Ark along with the proximity of Mt Weather that if they'd travelled east enough, they would eventually reach the coast and the Atlantic Ocean.

"My guess is that it means that the coast line and the ocean is this way. I'm not sure what else it could mean," Clarke offered in the way of an explanation as she pointed in the direction through the two trees.

As the team continued to trek through this uncharted as far as they were concerned section of the Virginia landscape, those symbols kept appearing in a greater frequency as the time passed. _'It's almost like the symbols mark the passage back to the coast or perhaps something else,'_ Clarke thought to herself.

She was about to take another step forward when she begun to hear the muted sounds of two voices up ahead. Taking a few steps ahead and turning back to face the group, she raised a finger to her lips to indicate silence as they crept closer in order to hear what they were saying. She didn't need to remind them that this could be a lead on the explosion and the bodies.

"Where do you think she came from?" Asked the voice of the first boy to his compatriot.

He was tall, lean but not particularly muscly. His dark black hair was in stark contrast to the aqua blue eyes and his expression was a cruel one. His clothes were grey and non-descript, almost as if he was wearing a uniform of some kind as the other boy was wearing similar attire.

"She doesn't look like one of those savages but she's also wandered too far from where those space people are set up even though she looks more like one of them," replied the second boy who had reddish hair and green eyes, but was shorter and stockier.

"Please, just leave me alone." The girl who was on the ground and cowering wore clothes that were ripped as well as dirty just as was her face.

The black haired boy advanced on her as she attempted to scramble away only running into his red haired friend,

"Where'd you come from and what's your name?" He asked menacingly clearly getting a kick out of terrifying her.

"My…my name's Keenan. I've been wandering out here for awhile wherever this is. I came from Mt Weather." She looked up at the boy only wondering how this situation could get any worse before asking, "What do you want from me?"

Taking a step even closer the boy drew a large hunting knife,

"We just want to have a little fun with you, that's all," a smug grin not only appeared on his face but his friend's face too.

Raven had been watching this interaction and wondered why that name sounded familiar. She couldn't quite put her finger on it until Mt Weather was mentioned. This Keenan had to be the girl Josh spoke of. But how? He told her that she'd died after Doctor Tsing had been testing the effects of radiation treatments and acclimatisation options on her.

It was too much of a coincidence to be ignored. That and the fact that she couldn't just sit there and watch whatever these boys might do to her. She couldn't imagine that Clarke, Octavia or even Maya as the girls in the group could sit by and do nothing. Turning to Clarke she said,

"We have to save her babe. She's that Keenan. The one I told you about."

Clarke looked into Raven's eyes as well as taking in her face and could see what this would mean to her if they saved this girl. She knew Raven felt guilt over some of the events that transpired at Mt Weather and wanted to redeem herself somehow.

Clarke looked back at the girl who was looking more frightened by the minute. She couldn't be sure that this girl was actually 'the Keenan' Raven had told her about, but she knew that if she didn't agree, her girlfriend would probably charge over there by herself anyway. Murphy however wasn't as keen on the idea as the rest of the group had overheard,

"No way in hell! Why should we risk ourselves on a complete stranger and even if we do, we'd have to share supplies with her!" He furiously whispered adamant in his stance on what they should do. He waved an arm across in a gesture meaning to decline.

Clarke had noticed Raven was watching Maya and she turned to look at her as well. The girl had looked like she'd seen a ghost as she looked out onto the clearing at Keenan uttering, "It really is her…" as she gripped onto Jasper's arm tightly.

A scream tore from Keenan's mouth as the red haired boy gripped her arms to hold her down as she kicked and flailed anything to try to break free. One of her feet caught the black haired boy in the mouth and he slapped her across the face,

"You're going to pay for that one you bitch!" He yelled at her.

Raven had had enough talking about what they were going to do. She was going to take action. As she stood up to go out there and confront them, a twig was snapped underneath the foot of Finn who made a grab for her and it drew the boys' attention toward the tree line.

"I guess that makes the decision for us," said Monty as the group raised their guns as they stood up and headed into the clearing.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stepping away from the trees, Raven knew that she had to take control of the situation quickly,

"Hands up, drop the knife and step away from the girl!" She commanded as she had both pistols drawn, one pointed at either of the boys. They looked at each other quickly but made no move to obey. Raising one of her pistols into the air, Raven fired off a shot, the sound even louder amidst the overwhelming silence that accompanied it.

"I won't say it again!" She barked as both guns were once again trained on the two guys in front of her once more. The rest of the group emerged from the tree line at various angles, each having their guns pointed at the two of them. Seeing no reason not to, they raised their hands in the air and the black haired boy dropped the knife.

Raven turned her attention to Keenan who was on the ground and unsure of what had transpired than afraid,

"Keenan. Grab the knife and come join us over here," Raven asked calmly as the girl looked as skittish as a startled animal.

Keenan gave no indications that she was going to move as her eyes travelled across the group standing opposite hers. They came to rest on Maya who she recognised. Pointing to her she said,

"You're from Mt Weather too!" The surprise not hidden in her voice. She knew of Maya but they weren't exactly close friends when they both lived in Mt Weather. But if she was here with these people from space, she must be able to trust them more than she could these strange boys.

"I know your boyfriend Josh. He helped us out of Mt Weather when we rescued some of our people," Raven added hoping that it would help her trust them.

Keenan's eyes light up at the mention of his name but she looked slightly crestfallen when she didn't see him amongst the group assembled. Nonetheless, she grabbed the knife and walked over to join them.

Clarke took this as a sign that she could move forward and begin the interrogation of these two who she considered Persons of Interest especially seeing as she knew they weren't from Mt Weather, the Ark or were Grounders. At least she didn't think so but couldn't say with 100% certainty.

She stepped out in front of the group, drawing the attention of the two boys in front of her as she began,

"First of all, who are you exactly?"

Her stance signified control and dominance. Her feet were shoulder width apart, back straight and she stood tall and proud. It matched the tone of her voice, a voice which was meant to be obeyed. A voice and body language that suggested that she would be suited to the role of Chancellor one day.

The black haired boy looked at his red headed friend who merely shrugged before he turned back to looking at Clarke as he begun to speak,

"Well I'm Andre and this is Jed," as he motioned with his hand at his friend.

They were both adopting a nonchalant stance, clearly not concerned where this was heading. Clarke felt that if she could at least start to build a connection with them, then perhaps they'd be more likely to be forthcoming with information.

"I'm Clarke and these," she gestured to those standing behind her, "…are my friends."

Seeing that this information didn't affect these two boys she continued on with her line of questioning.

"Where did you come from?" This was a question she was certainly curious about as there wasn't much to go by in the forest thus far. So unless they'd travelled a long way from a distant place, they must be located somewhere nearby.

Jed took a step forward and opened his mouth to answer her but stopped when he saw the glare on the face of Andre to which he said as he turned to face his friend,

"What? Who cares if we tell them? They can't get to the base anyway."

Clarke looked between the two and tucked away this knowledge of a base somewhere around here for later. When they were still up in space, everyone on the Ark knew about Mt Weather and the refuge it was supposed to provide should they ever return to the ground but there was no mention of any others bases or outposts. Jed turned his attention back to Clarke as he answered her original question,

"We live in a colony right on the coast called Atlantis. It's only a few more miles that way," he pointed in the direction he meant.

Clarke looked puzzled as she was familiar with the name and the fabled city of folklore. But it couldn't possibly be the same city that legends referred too.

"You live in a colony named after a mythical city that's supposed to be underwater." She looked back at Raven with an expression that said, 'I don't know what to make of this information.'

Despite it not being a question Jed answered her anyway,

"It was our ancestors' tongue-in-cheek name which eventually stuck."

It was Bellamy who stepped forward next as he wanted some clarification as to what he thought this strange boy meant. He'd spent some time doing some reading of his own on the Ark as he'd often read to Octavia when she was really young. He often picked books which spoke of fictional cities and mythical beasts as they stirred his imagination as much as they did a young Octavia.

"So are you actually saying that you live in a city or a colony or whatever under the water?" Clarke looked at him as he stood next to her, glad that someone was able to ask the odd question.

"Yes that's right. As I said we live on the coast, well off of it rather." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Andre who was not happy with his friend's admissions punched him hard.

"You've told them too much already!" He raised his arms quickly as the guns were all suddenly trained on him as a result of his movements. Raven, who had been watching her girl Clarke with pride at how she handled the situation thus far, asked the all important question,

"Was it your people that caused the explosion?" The silence in the clearing was tangible as everyone leaned forward slightly, waiting with great trepidation for the answer. It was Andre, who answered this time with a cruel smile on his face,

"Of course it was. Who else would it be?" He made sure he looked at all of their faces and Clarke wore an expression of shock which she was sure was a look that must have been on the faces of her friends, as he added, "Good luck proving it though."

Rustling could be heard in the surrounding area at the conclusion of his words and Clarke whipped her head around to see strangers emerging from the trees. She looked back over to where the two boys had been standing to see that they were gone having slipped away thanks to the distraction.

An arrow slammed into a nearby tree trunk as Clarke begun to realise the danger they were all in. "Everyone get to cover now!" She yelled out and as she took a step towards the tree line she felt a small prick in her neck. Slapping a hand on her neck she pulled a dart from her neck and she stumbled forward.

"What the hell…" she managed to get out before her vision wavered and she fell forward onto her hands.

"CLARKE!" Raven yelled as she noticed her girlfriend on the ground but she wasn't the only one as she saw that Murphy was on the ground and not moving as well. More and more hostiles emerged from the trees forcing Raven and whoever else nearby back.

"We've got to fall back. There's too many of them!" Bellamy yelled out as he grabbed Raven's arm tugging her towards him. She angrily shrugged him off,

"I can't just leave her there!" She screamed back at him pushing him in the chest. It was Finn, who made her see reason however,

"Raven if we don't fall back we'll be dead and then there won't be anyone to save Clarke." He pointed out at the clearing, "If they wanted her dead, why would they bother taking her? You've seen what they do to the dead and that they don't care where they leave them."

Raven hated to admit that he was right. It tore her heart to shreds to see them carrying off Clarke while other hostiles engaged them to prevent them from getting to their friends. Looking back as she backed away still returning fire she tried to remember each and every one of their faces of those who'd captured Clarke.

She wanted to remember them because she was going to do everything and anything to get Clarke back. She specifically wanted to remember those who had captured her girlfriend because they'd be the first to die.

**A/N:**

**Music that inspired the chapter**

**As part of the writing process, I've found that music often helps spark the creativity that leads to how certain scenes/scenarios will play out. In some cases, it helps generate an idea or a different way of approaching a scene. In other cases, I imagine the music in the background setting the tone for what is to come or the emotion/s felt by those characters or even just to lend some insight into what they would be feeling (e.g. fear with a darker macabre piece of music).**

**I decided to share the music that allowed me to bring to life my fanfiction and I hope you'll see what I mean if you listen to the songs. If you'd like to hear exactly in greater detail as to why these songs were chosen feel free to inbox me!**

**Songs:**

_Night Time in New Orleans - Jesper Kyd (From the moment they discover the symbols in the forest and follow the path from there onwards)_

_Antimatter - Jesper Kyd (When Clarke and her group get ambushed as they confront the potential bombers)_

**Congratulations you've reached the end of the chapter! Liked what you read? Didn't like it? Leave me a review as feedback is encouraged! I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head for this story but if you have a suggestion I'd love to hear it!**

**It's always nice reading reviews and each time I see that I have a new person follow or favourite the story or both it never fails to bring a smile to my dial so it's much appreciated because it makes it worthwhile knowing that there are people out there in the big wide world who are reading and enjoying what I've written.**

**Now for a bit of shameless self promotion. I have another story which I work on every now and then usually when an idea pops into my head. The story is called 'Octavia Blake: Girl on a mission.'**

**It's a story with a slow burn and may take awhile to get into especially seeing as there is only a couple of chapters in so far, but it was largely born out of a combination of seeing how distraught Octavia was when her and Lincoln got separated on an episode of 'The 100', watching a lot of the TV show 'Arrow' and the movie 'John Wick'. So if you've got a moment or two and have made it this far why not give it a look and tell me what you think.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

The sound of motors whirring and gears turning was what Clarke could hear as she came to. She hadn't opened her eyes yet but she was very much awake. The cold, hard floor made laying down considerably uncomfortable. Her head spun and she felt groggy as she tried to piece together what had happened to her.

She remembered being in the forest, questioning those two boys, Andre and Jed about the explosion and where they'd come from. They'd claimed to be from an underwater colony of all places. It took a lot longer than it should have for Clarke's eyes to flutter open and when they did; her first look at where she was became available to her.

She was in a small dark room with low level lighting. A small cot was pushed to one side of the room and on the other there was a toilet and a small basin with one faucet. Her head pounded as if she had the mother of all hangovers which she realised must have been from the dart in her neck and the drugs it injected into her body.

Looking down at herself revealed that her weapons were long gone and her clothes had been swapped out for utilitarian orange garments. She flushed with equal parts embarrassment and horror at the thought of unknown hands on her body, stripping away her clothes and possessions.

A blinking red light out of the corner of her eye diverted her attention to the cornices above the doorway as two security cameras monitored her movements. _'Well I'm definitely being held captive then,'_ she thought to herself.

She pushed herself to her feet and stumbled for a moment. She stood still for a minute or so just to convince her body that it was okay to stay upright as she walked over to the door. She looked out of the small barred window to get a sense of her surroundings but all she could see from her limited viewpoint was bare corridor.

"Hey! What's going on? Why am I locked up like this?" She yelled out as she banged on the door a couple of times in an attempt to gain the attention of someone, anyone.

A tall soldier suddenly appeared in front of the window and she jumped back out of surprise. At the sound of keys jangling and the crunching sound made by the lock as it was turned, Clarke pressed herself against the wall. Two soldiers strolled in, batons at the ready as they crossed the room and grasped one arm each as they begun to drag her from the room.

"Let go of me!" Clarke screamed out as she kicked and struggled to break the grip they had on her. A sharp blow to the side of her head had her slouched forward, her feet now dragging on the ground.

She quickly lost any sense of direction as they eventually took her to another under furnished room and dropped her into the solitary seat that occupied the room, fastening her hands behind her. The light above flickered intermittently and her gaze was drawn away from it at the sound of the door in front of her opening.

Stepping through the door was a man who carried himself in a way that suggested to Clarke that he was either the leader of this colony or at least a high ranking official. Either way, his presence was not likely to be a good thing for her.

He wore a sharp black three piece suit and tie ensemble as he strode into the room and crouched down in front of Clarke. His hair was lightly dusted brown, styled and trimmed with barber like precision and his eyes were a cold steel grey.

"What do you want from me?" She asked. Having racked her brain in the short amount of time that she'd been in the room alone, Clarke was unable to ascertain a reason why she had been taken. He however ignored her initial question,

"I never like coming down here," he gestured to the walls around them, "it's always so bland and one of the few parts of the colony where you can't see the outside world."

Clarke's gaze darted around as if she expected to see something just from his words but ultimately came to rest back on his face,

"Where are we?" Was the next burning question on the tip of her tongue which escaped her luscious lips. He had been gazing absentmindedly but at her question he stood up and took a step back.

"How much of your conversation do you remember having with Jed and Andre?" His voice carried an accent one which she couldn't quite place.

Back on the Ark, she'd learnt about a time when the people on Earth from lands far and wide spoke language of the same tongue but with different cadences. There'd even been one or two people she'd ran into on the Ark who still carried one so to run into one wherever she was, was as rare as hen's teeth.

"They mentioned something about a colony called Atlantis. They said it was underwater." The ropes which bound her hands cut into her wrists causing her pain every time she moved. He spun around raising his arms so his palms were facing upwards towards the ceiling his smile giving the confirmation.

"From your tone you remain sceptical," he pulled out a remote from his breast pocket and with a click, pushed a button.

The walls began to slowly bleed downward towards the floor as Clarke looked up and she couldn't believe her eyes. She could see the water that surrounded them and even some weak rays of sunlight that had managed to penetrate the surface. A school of fish swum by and she followed their progress until they swum out of sight.

"It's quite a sight the first time isn't it no?" he asked her and she returned to looking at him. Clarke shook her head disbelievingly,

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd have never believed it was true," a hint of awe had leaked into her voice.

She'd have taken more time to appreciate it if it weren't for the circumstances that brought her to see it. He nodded at her words knowing exactly how she felt at that moment. The first time he'd seen it as a boy it had amazed him to no end. The sheer beauty that surrounded them everyday and was just hidden beneath the surface of the water still to this day never failed to amaze him.

A million questions raced through Clarke's mind most of which had to do with how this was all possible. Her curiosity and determined nature where two attributes in particular were what made her a good scholar and soon to be doctor. There were few problems that she couldn't solve even if she didn't realise it especially when she had the support of her friends, family and loving girlfriend.

"What's that clear material that is the walls of this room made of?" Her natural curiosity winning out in spite of her situation. He walked over the one of the walls and with a small rap of his knuckles against it said,

"Pyrex." He raised a hand to stop her next question or bunch of questions. "It was a material used long ago to heat food of all things in microwaves. It gets stronger as the pressure on it increases. Perfect for the forces all that water places on the colony."

He strode over once again so that he was in front of Clarke and briefly placed his hands on her shoulders,

"I believe we've gotten off topic though." He paused briefly searching her face for a moment, "You wanted to know why you're here no?" She merely nodded at his words, "To answer that question let me tell you a story."

He walked over to the door and knocked on it lightly with a fist. It promptly opened and after a conversation which Clarke couldn't overhear even as she leant to the side to see who he was talking to. He turned around with a chair not too dissimilar to the one she was seated on and sat down on his own a few feet away from her.

"Did your parents ever tell you the story of the rat and the coconut?" He asked as he leant forward. Clarke shook her head as she unconsciously leant forward too, at least as far as she could manage.

"There was an island that was inhabited by a tribe of people. A beautiful tropical island that had sandy beaches, luscious vegetation and surrounded by waters with a clarity that was clearer than any gemstone." Clarke could see the wistful look in his eyes as she imagined the picture he painted with his words.

"The main source of food the people of this island ate was coconut. There was always more than enough for the people of the island as they would fall out of the trees as fast as they could pick them up." His hands moved together in a cupping gesture as his actions matched the words.

"However, the island was also inhabited by rats. The rats also preferred to eat the coconuts just as much as the people and soon enough there was an explosion in the population of the rats."

Clarke nodded as she had learnt about some of the examples of pest populations that had spiralled out of control and the ways both successfully and unsuccessfully that previous inhabitants of the Earth had attempted to deal with such problems.

"Coconuts were becoming scarce and the people of the island begun to devise a way to rid themselves of the rats once and for all." He paused to make sure that she was still following the story as he wanted her to feel the full effect.

"The people dug a large hole and set a trap in order to lure the rats there with the coconut of course." He wiggled his fingers and moved his hands to mime critters running, "Lured by the tasty smell of the coconut, the rats ran one-by-one into the hole as they desperately tried to get to the coconut which was always just out of reach. So what did the people do?"

He had his hands out in a questioning gesture as he waited a few seconds to let it sink in,

"The people left the rats in the hole only checking the trap every so often to replace the old coconut with the fresher, tastier stuff. As the weeks past, the rats consumed by their hunger and driven mad by the ecstasy being denied them turned on one another. Eventually the people of the island came to check on the rats and found only two were left. So did they finish them off and be done with them?"

He asked Clarke again rhetorically as he was always going to answer the question himself,

"The people destroyed the trap causing the coconut to fall into the hole in between the two rats," he motioned to indicate the falling of the coconut, "The rats left the coconut alone as it no longer interested them. They only had the taste for rat now."

This last sentence out of his mouth chilled Clarke to the bone as she sensed the punchline of a dark joke coming.

"What do you think they did with those last two rats? Did they kill them? No. They let them go as they were no longer a pest."

Clarke wasn't sure how that story was supposed to clarify the situation for her but she had an uneasy feeling sitting in her stomach,

"What does that have to do with why I'm here?"

The man who had not yet revealed his name or his official capacity within this so called colony had meanwhile rapped on the door and a number of soldiers piled into the room carrying all sorts of equipment. They set up two upright beams which they fastened to the floor quickly, which were at least several feet apart. Both beams were joined at the tops of each one by a horizontal beam.

Two soldiers stood ready as Clarke's hands were untied and grabbing her forcefully and quickly they dragged her over so she was between the two upright beams. Each soldier lifted an arm each, pulling them to either side to her max arm span and elevating them slightly.

When Clarke realised what they were going to do, she begun to fight and struggle, but all it earned her was a swift punch in the gut which had her slumping forward as they soldiers tied her hands so she dangled there as her feet dragged on the floor not supporting her as her body weight pulled on her arms.

They placed a section behind her head which was reminiscent of a large coat hanger that uncomfortably dug into her shoulders and attached to the beam above her head. Lifting her head she noticed that the 'story man' had been watching her appraisingly the entire time. Set up and pointed directly at her and in front of her on either side where two large speakers.

"The story Clarke was a metaphor. Can you guess who or should I say what you and the rest of the people on the surface were?" He stepped forward and whispered in her ear, "Play nice and I might let you look at the ocean."

Pressing the button on the remote again, covered up the walls as she was surrounded by the bland interior once more. Gesturing to the soldiers, one by one they left the room and he followed them out but stopped in the doorway. Turning back and smiling like a Cheshire cat and with one hand on the door he said,

"We're going to have a lot of fun you and I Miss Griffin."

He pointed the remote at the speakers and they blared to life with insanely loud music. Music that grated on the ears; in other words much too loud for comfort. The door slammed shut and Clarke was left alone and a little bit afraid as to what he meant by his last remarks.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The last 24 hours or so had been chaotic to say the least for Raven Reyes. In that space of time, the group she'd been a part of had been ambushed and her girlfriend had been taken to god only knows where. The supposed dead girlfriend of a boy who had saved Clarke and Finn back at Mt Weather had been found alive rather unexpectedly.

The girl named Keenan hadn't strayed far from Raven's side since they'd saved her. She was suffering the effects of dehydration and hadn't eaten properly in quite some time. Not having had much need to learn whilst in Mt Weather she did not know how to properly defend herself either.

Truthfully, Raven was glad to have the girl at her side despite her shortcomings which could be remedied for two main reasons. The first being by teaching the girl how to survive, her thoughts weren't entirely consumed on Clarke.

The second being that she felt that by giving Keenan the skills needed to survive, not only would she be an asset to the group, but it would mean that Raven could earn some redemption for having killed Josh, Keenan's boyfriend who she had no clue as to his life status at the present time.

All those however, were problems for a later time. Right now, the group or at least what remained of it were squabbling over what course of action they should take next. They had regrouped at the site of the explosion and it was here that the dialogue continued.

"We need to go back there and find a way to get our friends out of there, wherever these people are keeping them," said Jasper fervently as he had just as much reason as anyone present to go get their friends back.

His girlfriend Maya was one of the few that had been taken and he'd do what was necessary to get her back. The bond that had formed between the two of them was as close a bond as you could expect between two people. She was one of the first people of Mt Weather to actually approach him and the others like they weren't some zoo exhibit.

The two of them had begun to spend more and more time together in Mt Weather, just the two of them that is, getting closer and closer with each minute they spent together, sealing their bond when Jasper saved her life with the necessary transfusion and the two had been inseparable until now.

"But where are they exactly? We have no idea where they are," Finn reasoned as he addressed the group but looked at Jasper specifically.

He cast a quick worrying glance over at Raven, only imagining what she was feeling right at this moment. Jasper was not to be silenced as he looked her way as well.

"What about you Raven? Don't you want to get back there as quick as we can to get Clarke back?" Jasper asked her. She glared daggers at him from the implication alone,

"Of course I do! All I can think about is getting her back as well as our friends!" Unperturbed by her outburst, Jasper focussed now on Bellamy,

"What about you Blake? They've got your sister and doing god knows what to her," at these words Bellamy came at Jasper lunging wildly. Finn stepped between them, pulling them apart.

"Fighting amongst ourselves is not going to get them back any faster or do anyone any good," he looked back and forth between the two of them, "we can't just rush in there blindly. What we need is a plan."

As he looked around at what remained of the group, he could see the realisation of his words sink in to them. It was clearly displayed on all of their faces. Since learning his fate and being sent to the ground, Finn had been looking to find a new purpose for his life given this fresh start that he and the others had been given.

On the Ark, he had been a good supportive boyfriend to Raven when the two of them were together and he was always up for a little mischief here and there but at times he wasn't sure of his place, of his importance on the Ark. He hadn't been particularly focussed or driven like Raven had been and still is. He was content just to do what was necessary to get by.

But now on the ground, he relished the opportunities available to him now that everything was different. His mischievous and inquisitive nature as well as his eye for detail made him an excellent tracker. As a result of this, he was now looked to for his opinions and he had to admit he was enjoying the responsibility and leadership he was being afforded.

"So what do you think we should do?" Asked Monty who was just as keen as anyone there but for different reasons to retrieve their friends.

Monty himself felt that they, the group that is had a responsibility to get Clarke back. He admired her often selfless, moral ways and leadership especially when times were tough.

Ever since 'The 100' had landed on the ground and she'd become one of the de facto leaders of the group, Monty admitted to himself and anyone who would listen that the cool head on Clarke's shoulders had kept the group alive.

It was no surprise to him at least that they looked to her to lead them. Everyone had looked to Finn for the answer which he appeared to hold to that question,

"There's only one thing we can do. We have to return to the Ark."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Time had begun to lose all meaning for Clarke. The loud grating music that they'd been playing had carried on for God only knows how long. She was feeling the effects of fatigue and because of that fact; she knew that a large portion of time had past because she had been kept awake for hours on end.

It was sweet relief when the music suddenly shut off, not just for her ears but her state of mind as well. The door swung open making a creaking sound and as she looked up, saw the man who had talked to her before enter the room. In one hand he carried a sizeable piece of cloth and the other, a bucket of water.

"I hope you've been enjoying the hospitality so far Miss Griffin," he said to her as he approached her.

He removed her shirt quickly by cutting it away leaving her in just her bra and pants. He dipped the fabric he was holding in the bucket of water, wetting it whilst placing the bucket off to the side. He then wrapped the fabric around her torso reasonably tightly and rolled back the sleeves on his shirt.

He lifted her head so that she couldn't focus on anything else but him as he looked at her appraisingly, moving her head this way and that gently.

"It would be a crime to mar such beauty, hence the fabric and the water."

Fighting her fatigue and the dryness of her throat Clarke managed to ask,

"Who…who are you?" Her eyes were struggling to stay open as she looked up at him. He clucked his tongue with an air of impatience,

"Names are for friends, family and acquaintances. Possessing this information does not help you at all."

He clicked his fingers and the door opened once more and through it, stepped a lackey who brought in a projector on wheels as well as a screen; to what end Clarke had no idea. The lackey promptly left the room after he had set up the equipment. The lights in the room were extinguished; the only light was the soft glow emanating from the projector.

With a click from the remote he now held in his hand, Clarke's captor made the first image appear projected on the screen which had been wheeled in and set up by the lackey earlier. On the screen was a picture she did not expect to see. The picture was of Raven. A small moan escaped her lips as her heart beat that little bit faster at the sight of her girlfriend.

It was just an ordinary photo of an everyday scene where Raven was smiling and happy as she went about some work she'd been doing outside of the Ark's boundaries. It was clear from the picture that these people had been spying on them for some time now. As she looked at the image she hoped that Raven hadn't been captured or worse.

A scream tore out of Clarke's mouth as the first blow landed on her right hand side. The pain was excruciating and it took her more than a moment to get her breath back and for the pain to subside to a manageable level.

"I meant what I said when I mentioned that it would be a crime to mar such beauty." Due to how dark it was in the room, Clarke couldn't see where he was, but she knew he'd moved. "This is why I wrapped your body in wet fabric. You get all the pain but none of the bruising."

Another fist slammed into her body on the opposite side this time, another scream erupting from her body, scratching its way out of her throat which was quite raw. Breathing quickly all she could ask was,

"Why?"

The pain she was feeling now evident in the sound of her voice. She heard the sound of his shoes stop as she guessed he was figuring out how best to answer her question.

"The metaphor I spoke of with you last time Clarke this is why." She could see one of his hands illuminated by the light of the projector as he pointed at Raven.

"What I'm doing is conditioning Clarke. I'm using this picture amongst others and my actions to condition and elicit a certain response from you." Clarke felt another blow land on her body and the pain level was heading towards the unbearable end of the spectrum.

"Did you ever hear about a man named Pavlov? He wanted to see if certain responses could be associated to certain actions to understand behaviour and the way the mind works." Another blow connected and she thought she heard a crack.

"He tested his theories on dogs. He'd ring a little bell at the time the dogs were feeding. Eventually after ringing the bell the dogs would start salivating as they were anticipating that it was time for their next meal. In which case he would then feed them."

Clarke could feel her consciousness slipping and with a prompt slap to her face she was snapped back to attention.

"After awhile he wanted to see if he could revert them back to before they associated the bell with feeding. So once more he'd ring the bell and the dogs would think it was feeding time, but this time he did not feed them and over time they stopped associating this bell with their food. So you see they had been conditioned to associate one thing with another and it affected their behaviour and responses as a direct result."

Clarke pulled at her bindings as if to draw strength from them as she was more than tired of the theatrics as she said,

"What does this have to do with me?" She knew he was standing directly in front of her as her view of the picture of Raven disappeared.

"Well let's just say when I'm done with you Clarke, it won't be your food you're salivating after."

**A/N:**

**Music that inspired the chapter**

**As part of the writing process, I've found that music often helps spark the creativity that leads to how certain scenes/scenarios will play out. In some cases, it helps generate an idea or a different way of approaching a scene. In other cases, I imagine the music in the background setting the tone for what is to come or the emotion/s felt by those characters or even just to lend some insight into what they would be feeling (e.g. fear with a darker macabre piece of music).**

**I decided to share the music that allowed me to bring to life my fanfiction and I hope you'll see what I mean if you listen to the songs. If you'd like to hear exactly in greater detail as to why these songs were chosen feel free to inbox me!  
><strong>

**Songs: **

_Vegas – Jesper Kyd (When Clarke sees the ocean above her in the interrogation room in the underwater colony for the 1st time)_

_Sanitarium - Jesper Kyd (When Clarke is getting tortured/conditioned in the Underwater Colony)_

**Congratulations you've reached the end of the chapter! Liked what you read? Didn't like it? Leave me a review as feedback is encouraged! I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head for this story but if you have a suggestion I'd love to hear it!**

**It's always nice reading reviews and each time I see that I have a new person follow or favourite the story or both it never fails to bring a smile to my dial so it's much appreciated because it makes it worthwhile knowing that there are people out there in the big wide world who are reading and enjoying what I've written.**

**Now for a bit of shameless self promotion. I have another story which I work on every now and then usually when an idea pops into my head. The story is called 'Octavia Blake: Girl on a mission.'**

**It's a story with a slow burn and may take awhile to get into especially seeing as there is only a couple of chapters in so far, but it was largely born out of a combination of seeing how distraught Octavia was when her and Lincoln got separated on an episode of 'The 100', watching a lot of the TV show 'Arrow' and the movie 'John Wick'. So if you've got a moment or two and have made it this far why not give it a look and tell me what you think.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

After the decision to return to the Ark had been made, what was left of the group being led by Raven and Finn had not delayed on trekking back to the Ark. They packed up their belongings and what not and left ground zero. They'd been making good time as no one in the group had wanted to stop and lose any more time than they already had.

Raven in particular had been distracted not paying any great attention on the path back to the Ark just trusting that her feet would lead her there. She'd been going over all the information that she had at her disposal, coming up with a plan of attack, what she'd say to Abby in order to convince her that her plan would work.

She figured that once she found out that her daughter had been taken that Abby would get on board with her plan and give her anything she needed in order to make it happen. As the group stepped through the trees they got their first sight of the Ark since they'd originally left to continue the investigation. The sight in front of them was certainly not what they were expecting to see.

The main gate was wide open and portions of the fence line were down, broken, twisted and of not much further use. Raven had come to a stop and her sudden stop had Finn & Keenan run into her. Raven didn't think she only reacted instinctively,

"Everyone stick close together and stay frosty. Something's not right here," she said as she lifted her guns from their holsters and made her way slowly down to the Ark and through the gate.

Bodies both Ark citizens and Grounders were strewn haphazardly across the Earth. They lay where they had fallen via the fatal wounds delivered to them by a variety of weapons. Used shells and cartridges from guns littered the ground and patches of dirt were stained crimson. The sound of retching broke the silence as Keenan who hadn't seen anything quite like this before lost the contents of her stomach as Finn held her hair and rubbed her back.

"Raven, have a look at this," came Bellamy's voice from over beside the Ark. It was his tone that drew Raven's attention his way. Scrawled across the metal hull of the Ark was the message,

**THINK ON YOUR SINS.**

Even more disturbingly the message was written in blood and the letters themselves must have been painted on sloppily as the blood had run down the side of the Ark beneath each of the letters. Given that the Grounders had bothered to leave a message at all meant that they knew that they hadn't gotten everyone who had lived on the Ark and the message itself served as a chilling warning.

"Let's see if we can find anything of value still here and if there are any survivors," Raven said proving that she was nothing if not practical. The truth was however that she was freaking out inside.

She'd been counting on coming back to the Ark and talking it over albeit quickly with Abby, in an attempt to get more manpower as well as explaining who was responsible so the Grounders would not attack. But from the scene in front of her, they were too late.

The group moved into the Ark itself now as they searched not sure exactly what they'd find. They all worked separately clearing each of the rooms but there was not much to find. The rooms had been ransacked to different degrees. Raven was afraid to see what the room her and Clarke shared would look like.

Despite not having many possessions, what they did have had been tossed around as if a tornado had struck the centre of the room. As Raven turned to go unable to look at the destruction of a space that held many significant and loving memories for her she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.

As she turned her gaze fully onto it now her heart leapt out of her chest as she realised what it was. Clarke's sketchbook. Without a second thought, she picked it up and flipped through it seeing all of the sketches Clarke had drawn. She knew that she had to take it with her regardless of whether it was practical or not.

She had to take probably the one thing left that was a strong reminder of her girlfriend and the one thing that would mean the world to her when she got it back. _'Wherever the hell you exactly are, I'm going to find you and reunite you with this book. I'll reunite us Clarke. I can't do this without you,'_ Raven thought.

She had been putting on a brave face throughout the time this ordeal had carried on not only because she didn't want to succumb to the depressing thoughts but because the group needed her to be strong. Quickly closing the sketchbook, she made her way out to the front of the Ark to wait for the others to reassemble.

Minutes later the rest of the group had come out to show the others their findings. It was slim pickings to say the least. They hadn't found any further survivors but they had found some items which would prove useful. There had still been some food squirreled away along with ammo and a couple of radios.

It was Monty, who spoke the question that had been on everyone's lips once they'd finished distributing the supplies,

"So now that this proved to be a bust, what the hell do we do now?" All eyes swivelled towards Raven, more than one set hoping that she'd have the all important answer.

Given that it was late in the day and everyone was tired both mentally and physically from the trek here and what they found when they arrived, she knew that they needed to settle somewhere for the night. The problem was, the Ark wasn't likely to be the safest option right now.

"First of all we need to make camp and I think everyone will agree that here," she indicated to the ground around them, "is not the safest place we can be right now."

"So what happens tomorrow now that we know that there's no one else here who can help us?" Asked Jasper who was trying to cover up his feelings of helplessness with a defiant attitude. Raven was addressing the whole group but looked specifically at him,

"It's simple. We go get our friends back."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Clarke's stay in the underwater colony had stretched from hours to days as she begun to wonder what may be in store for her next. She was lying down on the cot in her cell looking up at the ceiling. Her mind flashed back to the seemingly endless hours of torture that she'd endured and it didn't matter whether she was awake or asleep, she couldn't get any respite from what she'd been through.

When she did manage to fall asleep, day or night she couldn't tell any more, she always felt the pain. Her dreams which involved Raven previously were about love, happiness and all the things she'd want to do with her girlfriend.

Now whenever she saw her face she was terrified. It was usually around that time that she'd wake up in a cold sweat. It left her feeling more than confused as she knew that it wasn't quite right because of all the good, loving memories that she'd shared with Raven.

That wasn't all that she experienced in unconsciousness however. Whenever she woke up, she found herself consumed with this desire that stemmed from the very top of her head to the tips of her toes. A desire that was filled with hate, pain, rage and blood when she thought about a certain group of people.

Her inner thoughts were interrupted as the door to her cell swung open and in stepped two guards. She sat up quickly, pressing her back against the wall watching them.

"Stand up!" Barked one of the guards. She made no move to comply so the other guard after a gesture from the one giving orders grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her along with him.

This time they continued down the corridor but went past the interrogation room and into another much larger room. This room was about as unfurnished as a newly built house with the walls bare and plain. The floor looked like it had been cleaned fairly recently and it had a large rectangle outline painted onto the floor.

There was only one other entrance into the room opposite the one Clarke was brought in by. Outside of the rectangular outline at each of the corners as well as stationed on either side of the doors were guards. At the moment in the centre of the room stood Clarke's interrogator and seeing him there was not a good thing.

"How wonderful that you could join us Clarke!" He exclaimed as if his day had been made. The delight in his voice was that apparent that Clarke really couldn't tell whether it was genuine or not.

It appeared that he had a very distinct style of apparel as she hadn't seen him in anything that would look out of place at a formal gathering. She supposed that it was probably one of the perks of being high up on the hierarchy in this colony.

He beckoned to her to join him but she made no move in any direction. He sighed loudly and with a small gesture of his head had the guards behind Clarke shove her forward into the outlined rectangle. Pushing herself up from the floor she asked,

"Why am I here?" His gaze locked onto hers and still managed to be serious even with the smile he wore.

"To see if our little sessions together have worked of course!" He replied as if it were obvious and the most exciting outcome ever.

The door on the opposite side of the room opened and through it entered another girl, who Clarke hadn't seen before and who was being manhandled by another couple of guards. She however wasted no time in stepping into the rectangle when she was invited to do so.

"What's the point of this and what's she doing here?" Clarke asked her interrogator.

At the sound of her voice the other girl's attention snapped to Clarke and the expression on her face was nothing short of vicious. This girl also wore the orange garbs that were standard prisoner issue.

Her skin wasn't fair like Clarke's indicative of someone who spent a lot of time under the harsh rays of the sun. She also had a crescent tattoo that adorned her face and short cropped black hair. Her height was similar to that of Clarke's and she was thin and on the leggy side.

The interrogator stepped back so that he was no longer between the two girls as he spoke,

"Remember the story I told you Clarke? The one about the rats?" He indicated to both her and the other girl. "You two are the rats from that story. You are from the sky and she is from the ground."

Clarke instantly had a really bad feeling about this. She remembered the story to which he referred to and to say it wasn't a happy ending for the rats was a huge understatement.

"So are you saying…" she began but was interrupted.

"Correct Miss Griffin. I want the two of you to the fight until there is only one of you left."

Those ominous words had Clarke looking at him in horror which is how she was caught off guard by the other girl who had charged across the room and tackled her. Both girls hitting the floor with a thud, Clarke the worse for wear having bore the brunt of the tackle and the hard floor.

The other girl had Clarke pinned and was raising her fist to land another strike on Clarke when her survival instincts took over. Shoving the girl off of her, she scrambled onto her feet just as the other girl did as well. They both begun to circle each other, hands raised to make and fend off attacks. The girl struck Clarke on the arm and she felt it and knew she'd be sore if she survived this.

"Come on Clarke, she wants you and your people dead." She was distracted momentarily by the voice of her interrogator on the sidelines. "She wants to kill your Raven."

It was at this last sentence and hearing the name of her girlfriend being mentioned that Clarke begun to see red. Her rage boiled over and she attacked her opponent with swift and brutal strikes. She could feel her fists hitting flesh and before she knew it she was being pulled away and left on the floor.

"Well done Clarke! You exceeded even my wildest expectations!" Her interrogator said unable to contain the delight in his voice.

Clarke looked down at her hands and noticed that they were starting to bruise and were a little swollen. She recoiled however at the blood that was smeared all over her hands. _'What the hell happened?'_ She thought to herself.

Looking up at the scene in front of her she noticed the girl who she had been fighting was slumped awkwardly on the floor with bloody wounds across her body. Clarke gasped in horror and begun to back up across the room unable to lift herself to her feet. Her back collided with the wall and she stopped as the rest of the room was further revealed to her.

It wasn't just that girl who was lifeless on the floor but another three Grounders were bloody and lifeless too.

"Wh…What did I do?" Clarke struggled to get out in horror as she covered her mouth with her hand to stop the scream that threatened to burst from her lips.

As she frantically searched through her mind she realised that she had no recollection of anything between when she was filled with this all consuming rage and now after she realised what she had done.

"You did exactly what I wanted you to do. What I conditioned you to do." He strode across the room and clapped Clarke on the shoulder.

"You'll be reunited with friends in no time after this exhibition you put on for us," he added.

Clarke felt the sharp prick of a needle as he injected a drug in her neck to knock her out for away. Eventually her eyelids couldn't fight any longer and such succumbed to unconsciousness.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The last few days had been tougher than any of them would care to admit out loud. For those who had retreated with Raven when they were ambushed and their friends taken that is. On top of having their friends captured, they returned to the Ark to find it deserted thus scuppering the idea of gathering additional personnel for support and explaining what they'd found to prevent the Grounder attack.

They had been too late in the end to prevent the aforementioned attack and fearing that the Ark was now a compromised location, they fled to a place that was about as safe as anywhere aside from the Ark that is and was familiar to them. The Dropship.

It was here that they regrouped to check the state of their supplies, get some rest, both physical and mental as well as plan what their next move may be. For Raven, it also meant a chance to further fulfil the promise she made to herself to look after Keenan.

The girl was scared and utterly defenceless from not having any combative experience or training. It was from this that Raven decided to use some of the time they had before setting out again to teach Keenan some self defence as well as how to handle any weapons she may need to use.

"Okay, so I want you to watch what I do and then copy my movements, alright?" She asked Keenan as she stood facing opposite her.

Raven was showing her some basic hand-to-hand moves which often came in handy when you were weapon-less or your weapon had been taken or knocked out of reach. She was demonstrating at that moment how to correctly throw a punch and then was going to follow it up with how to block certain strikes.

Keenan attempted to throw a punch of her own but her technique was still a little off,

"Don't wrap your fingers around your thumb when you throw one because you'll break your thumb when you hit someone." Raven grabbed a hold of her fist and formed it properly for her. She turned to the side her arm hung at her side, "Go on, and hit me on the arm."

Keenan shook her head not keen on the idea. Back in Mt Weather instances of violence were rare and she'd never had to do anything like this before and she wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea. Raven sighed,

"There may be a time when you actually have to defend yourself and I can't be there to protect you." She tapped her arm with her hand and said, "You may as well get a feel for what it's like to hit someone, so hit me."

Raven watched as Keenan composed herself before striking her on the arm. Raven nodded before adding,

"Good. Again, but harder this time." Spurred on by the praise Keenan hit her a few times and Raven playfully rubbed her shoulder with a smile. "Good work slugger!" She motioned to Finn who came over, "Take over for me I'm taking a break for a bit."

She walked over to the Dropship and sat on the ramp grabbing a canteen full of water and taking a few sips from it. The heat and humidity made it so that keeping hydrated was an even greater priority than it was before. The others were going about their business as they prepared for what lay ahead of them in their own way.

Bellamy was on the upper level of the Dropship taking a nap and Jasper & Monty were playing some sort of game. She watched as Finn continued the instruction and as was the case a lot lately her mind strayed to Clarke.

She missed her so much already. Each night that she spent alone was slightly more agonising than the last. It got her thinking about when it was agony for her to be around Clarke before they had gotten together and how she wished life was as carefree as it was in that brief period when all that was on her mind was her mechanical work, recovering from injury and her feelings for Clarke. Her mind begun to drift to moment when her feelings had begun to make themselves known…

_Despite her early misgivings and distrust of Clarke, Raven was beginning to find that she respected Clarke not only because of her knowledge in the area as well as her ability to help her recover, but for putting up with her as well. _

_Raven had made her dislike pretty clear from the outset but Clarke had been completely unperturbed by her abrasive attitude and it was then that Raven got to see more of the person that Clarke was. She was a person who genuinely put others before herself even those who made it no secret that they didn't like her. _

_She carried on with her work in a professional manner which Raven got see up close and personal proving she was good at it. It reminded Raven a lot of herself in that she prided herself on doing excellent work and being good at what she did. It was then that she begun to falter in her dislike of Clarke. _

_Eventually she begun to open up and chat freely with Clarke who had not given up in engaging Raven despite her often monosyllabic answers and prickly demeanour. She learnt that Clarke loved to draw and that she had wondered about the Earth a lot when still up in space which was why many of her sketches were of nature. _

_The second that Raven knew that her friendship with Clarke was about to change was when she went to sleep one night. She'd made some real progress with the recovery of her leg and was secretly thrilled when she saw how happy Clarke was for her. Her dreams often involved Finn in some capacity as she thought about him, her ex-boyfriend a lot. _

_The dreams usually involved her and Finn making out or more usually in one of the many spots on the Ark when they spent time together just the two of them. The dream had started out typically as she was being kissed her hands at his waist as she lay there. Her eyes closed savouring the moment when she felt his lips leave hers. _

_Her eyes opened as at this point she usually pulled him down to continue the kiss but she was met by a different scene when she opened her eyes this time. _

"_Did you enjoy that?" came the distinctly feminine voice as she looked up into Clarke's eyes, a lazy but pleased with herself smile on her face. _

_Raven was shocked awake as she sat up and pressed a couple of fingers to her lips which she swore were tingly from that kiss. She flushed as she realised that her dream had her kissing Clarke this time and not Finn. _

_The next day when she had to meet Clarke to continue her rehabilitation was awkward for Raven to say the least. The first time she saw Clarke she had a fluttery feeling in her stomach which only intensified when Clarke looked at her and smiled. _

_She often found herself turning her head away to hide her blush when Clarke was up close and touching her leg to inspect it. 'God what is the matter with me today?' Raven thought to herself. _

_This continued for several days past a week and it became too much for her. She was constantly dreaming about Clarke every time she closed her eyes. She felt as if she was on fire every time she was around Clarke especially when she touched her as her feelings threatened to burst forth. _

_She came to a couple of realisations as a result of all this. The first was that she had more than a major crush on Clarke. The second being that she needed to tell Clarke how she felt about her. Each day around her was its own torment as she wanted to bring her dreams into reality and lean in those final few inches and kiss her. _

_It was from both of these realisations that found her outside of Clarke's room after a long day of rehab and her beginning to work as a mechanic again. Over the course of her last few nights off she'd snuck out of the Ark and had picked a bunch of flowers that glowed in the dark. _

_They were a variety of colours and were pretty which she figured Clarke would appreciate and perhaps even draw. 'Plus when I tell her how I feel and give her these it should help right?' She thought to herself. _

_She was a nervous mess and got even more so when the door opened and Clarke stepped through it completely surprising and terrifying Raven simultaneously. _

"_What are you doing here Raven? Is something up with your leg?" She asked concerned as her gaze drifted downwards. _

_Raven had quickly hidden the flowers behind her back and scrambled to say something coherent, _

"_Oh…umm. No everything's okay. I actually just came to see you." Clarke's gaze returned to Raven's face, her smile as pretty and radiant as always. Raven gave herself a mental kick before continuing, _

"_I brought you these!" She said as she revealed the glow flowers which had begun to show some of their vibrant colours and glowing properties in the waning sunlight. Clarke looked surprised with a dash of puzzled as she took them from Raven who added nervously, _

"_You know, because you like to draw and you were telling me about the stuff you drew of the Earth and these flowers are pretty you know like you." _

'_Oh God! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!' Raven thought to herself as she babbled on. _

_She wasn't thinking clearly because of her feelings which were leaving her more than confused as she'd never encountered these problems with Finn before. The two of them had grown up with each other and had eventually taken it beyond just being friends without much thought. _

_This was a whole different ball game as she was having to process these feelings she had for someone she was beginning to get to know. Someone she hadn't known for all that long. _

"_Thanks Raven," she replied not noticing Raven's inner struggle, "Was that all you came to see me about?" _

'_Tell her how you feel!' Said Raven's heart. _

'_What if she rejects you then what?' Countered Raven's head. _

'_Imagine how great it'll be to be with her,' said her heart. _

'_This is stupid. She's not going to feel the same way. I mean why would she? She probably is just nice to you because her mom is telling her to be because that's how doctors are. She probably hates you and can't wait to get back to rubbing it in your face with Finn,' retorted her head ended the struggle she was having. _

"_No that was it," Raven replied lamely. _

"_I'll see you tomorrow then!" _

_Raven watched as Clarke walked down the corridor and out of sight and she let out a sigh of exasperation kicking the wall in the process with her good leg. _

"_I'm crazy about you Clarke. I think you're an amazing person who I want to get to know more. An amazing person who is pretty, smart and the most genuine person I've ever met. You make me feel things with such an intensity I haven't felt before Clarke and it scares and excites me both at the same time. I really, really like you." She verbalised her thoughts out loud when no one was around before adding, _

"_That wasn't so hard. Why couldn't I say it to her?" _

Raven was brought back to the present from her memory by the sound of rocks being dislodged. She looked over to where they begun to roll down the hill and saw a figure frozen like a deer caught in headlights once they realised they'd been spotted spying.

She threw herself to her feet and took off in pursuit desperately chasing after a person who might have the answers that could help her get her girlfriend back.

**A/N:**

**Music that inspired the chapter**

**As part of the writing process, I've found that music often helps spark the creativity that leads to how certain scenes/scenarios will play out. In some cases, it helps generate an idea or a different way of approaching a scene. In other cases, I imagine the music in the background setting the tone for what is to come or the emotion/s felt by those characters or even just to lend some insight into what they would be feeling (e.g. fear with a darker macabre piece of music).**

**I decided to share the music that allowed me to bring to life my fanfiction and I hope you'll see what I mean if you listen to the songs. If you'd like to hear exactly in greater detail as to why these songs were chosen feel free to inbox me!**

**Songs: **

_Echoes of the Roman Ruins - Jesper Kyd (When Raven and the rest of the group return to find the Ark deserted)_

_Boiling - Disclosure (When Clarke feels conflicted and confused about her feelings about Raven because of what she's been through)_

_Budapest Bath Hotel - Jesper Kyd (When Clarke looks at her bruised and bloodied hands and realises what she has done)_

_Change your mind - The Killers (The flashback when Raven is nervous around Clarke and wants to tell her how she feels)_

_You belong with me - Taylor Swift (The flashback pre-relationship when Raven can't take being around Clarke and not telling her the feelings she has for her)_

**Congratulations you've reached the end of the chapter! Liked what you read? Didn't like it? Leave me a review as feedback is encouraged! I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head for this story but if you have a suggestion I'd love to hear it!**

**It's always nice reading reviews and each time I see that I have a new person follow or favourite the story or both it never fails to bring a smile to my dial so it's much appreciated because it makes it worthwhile knowing that there are people out there in the big wide world who are reading and enjoying what I've written.**

**Now for a bit of shameless self promotion. I have another story which I work on every now and then usually when an idea pops into my head. The story is called 'Octavia Blake: Girl on a mission.'**

**It's a story with a slow burn and may take awhile to get into especially seeing as there is only a couple of chapters in so far, but it was largely born out of a combination of seeing how distraught Octavia was when her and Lincoln got separated on an episode of 'The 100', watching a lot of the TV show 'Arrow' and the movie 'John Wick'. So if you've got a moment or two and have made it this far why not give it a look and tell me what you think.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

It was not just the different sounds that alerted Clarke to the fact that she was not where she last was when she'd been drugged but the feel of the floor beneath her as she slowly begun to open her eyes.

The ground she was on was a little damp and the sunlight was peeking through the canopy above. At seeing the trees around her Clarke shot up quickly so she was sitting now instead of lying down and realised that she was outside in the forest.

"Clarke?" Came a voice to her left causing her to look that way.

To her surprise and relief she saw that it was Octavia who had called out her name. She looked like she probably could have done with some more sleep but otherwise looked the same as always as she made her way over to Clarke.

Both girls looked at one another for a moment, as if they were deciding if the other one was actually in front of them before they embraced each other in a tight hug.

"Oh my god, it's so good to see you! I didn't think I'd see anyone again after what they did to me," said Octavia, unable to contain the relief in her voice.

"What did they do to you?" Clarke asked in earnest, wondering if what she went through was the same as what Octavia went through. Letting go of the hug, Octavia stepped back so she could fully take in Clarke.

To her, Clarke looked tired and without any visible signs of suffering but the toll it had taken on her could be seen in her eyes. She was still dressed in the same outfit that Octavia had always generally seen her in, except it looked as though her clothes had been cleaned. _'If there's anyone that could have gone through that and still look pretty it'd be her,' _she thought absentmindedly.

"There was this guy," she began, "who'd ask me things…show me pictures of our friends, of Grounders, of Bellamy. There was always pain…so much pain…I just wanted it to stop," Octavia finished as she looked down and away, shaking her head briefly from side to side as if to rid her head of those thoughts, looking anywhere that didn't have her looking at Clarke as she didn't want her friend to see her feeling so weak.

She didn't want a girl who she'd become friends with over the course of their return to the Earth's surface to see her so vulnerable. She shivered at the memory of being struck repeatedly each time the image changing to someone she cared about. Clarke moved forward and hugged her friend once more before keeping her hands on Octavia's shoulders to let her know that she was there for her.

"The man…was he dressed to impress?" At Octavia's puzzled look she clarified, "Was he wearing like a suit but without the jacket?" Octavia shook her head,

"No. He wore these brown robes and a mask." She knew that when she closed her eyes the next time she went to sleep voluntarily that she'd see that mask. She couldn't quite describe it any other way as being demonic. A face associated with all kinds of horror, of evil.

Clarke quickly relayed her version of events to her and it was afterwards that Octavia realised something from her own experience.

"Not once ever did they show me your face Clarke." She couldn't understand why they did that considering they'd tortured her in the "presence" of all her other friends, family and even foes. She pushed Clarke lightly on the chest as a weak smile returned to her face,

"At least you're in one piece though right?" The light push made a crinkling sound on Clarke's chest and she reached into her pocket to find a folded piece of paper. Looking up at Octavia with slight confusion she turned her attention back to the note unfolding it to see that a message was scrawled on it which read,

'_Dearest Clarke, _

_I hope you enjoyed our time together as much as I did. You should have woken up alongside a friend of yours. I imagine she'll be more than thrilled to see you. By now you're probably wondering why I let you go, don't forget that tale I told you about. Only you and your friends have the power to put an end to the infestation that plagues the surface. _

_I will be seeing you again very soon Clarke, providing you're still alive that is. My last parting gift to you however is a head start. _

_3…2…1…Run. _

_Yours in blood and death,_

_X'_

Clarke quickly handed Octavia the note to read but before she even got a chance to read one word, a small group of Grounders pushed through the tree line and spotted the girls. The Grounder closest to them yelled something out pointing at them and with horror, Clarke watched as they got their weapons out to attack.

She looked at Octavia who only nodded at her knowing already what they had to do as they took off, sprinting in the direction opposite the Grounders. The sounds of a hot pursuit following them as they whipped past branches, desperate to get away. These sounds were accompanied by the heavy footfalls of those Grounders who were ravenous in their desire to spill the blood of any sky people they saw.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Her pulse begun to race as the adrenalin shot through her veins as Raven pursued the spy through the dense thickets of forest that surrounded the Dropship. Once she had spotted said spy she only had one thought on her mind and that was to capture them.

The forest that surrounded her was silent except for the frenzied pursuit that took place as plants rustled when whipped past and the ground crunched underneath each stride. Raven was steadily gaining ground until the spy used a branch to fling herself around so she landed on her feet behind Raven who skidded to a stop as she turned around to face the spy.

The hunt continued as they covered varying terrains until the spy dropped out of sight suddenly. Coming to the edge of a ledge, she saw the spy on the ground below getting even further away. Thinking on her feet as she often did, Raven took a running start and flung herself onto a nearby vine using her momentum to drive it forward to fling herself in an attempt to close the gap.

She landed with a roll launching into a sprint once more and the chase was back on. The section of forest became thicker now as she had to duck in and out constantly to avoid collision. Hearing a muted but strangled cry, she honed in on it to find the spy who had gotten her foot caught in an animal trap and it was now that Raven got her first good look at the spy.

The spy was a girl in her early teens who was thin and had lightly tanned skin. She was of average height with long black hair and a greenish shade to the colour of her eyes. Eyes which were looking frightened around the edges as Raven approached her. It looked as if her attire was made from animal pelts, which was a common attire worn by some Grounders.

"Why were you spying on us? Did they send you?" she asked as she loomed over the young girl, now more frightened than ever dude to the tone of Raven's voice. She started to scramble back,

"Did who send me? I was seeing if you had any more of our people," she replied.

Raven looked at the girl quizzically now. She didn't appear to know whom Raven was referring too, so in all likelihood she wasn't affiliated with the group that took Clarke and the others. Even more puzzling was what the girl had stated about her purpose for spying on them.

"What do you mean, 'If we had more of your people'? We weren't exactly running a POW camp back there."

Blood had begun to dribbled from the cuts on the ankle of the girl spy caught in the trap and Raven crouched down eager to get to the bottom of all this.

"Why don't you tell me who you are, where you're from and we'll sort this all out," she continued diplomatically. "Besides," she pointed at the girl's ankle, thereby drawing her attention there, "you probably want that thing off your ankle, so help me help you."

Raven waited patiently for a few seconds as she could see the girl take her offer of sorts under consideration. It didn't take her long however to come to a decision as she begun to speak up about what she knew and could share with Raven.

"My…my name is Amitis," she sucked in a laboured breath, wincing in pain and discomfort, "I come from a settlement not far from here; not far from where your people from the sky live." She shifted her position so she could lean against a tree as she was seated before continuing.

"Our people were in conflict about the disappearance of my people. The arguing, it went on for days. Indra was so very angry."

"So is that why your people attacked the Ark? To get your people back?" Raven asked her patiently, hoping to fill in the blanks. She took a seat, crossing her legs as it was starting to get a tad uncomfortable crouching.

Amitis nodded vigorously, "Yes! Indra said we had to make the people from the sky pay. An example had to be made. We went to take some of your people as well as getting our own back but it spiralled out of control," she shuddered involuntarily as she thought back to that day. "So many lives lost on both sides…" she looked away as that thought trailed off as Raven begun to process this new information.

So the Grounders had eventually attacked as they ran out of patience with those from the Ark, holding them responsible for the disappearances of the Grounders. It then hit her with horror that because they hadn't gotten back in time to explain what had really happened her and her friends had cost the lives of many innocent civilians of the Ark. Looking back at the girl,

"Tell me everything you know!" She demanded as her guilt was being expressed in the form of anger. When Amitis failed to respond, she shook her shoulders garnering her attention wholly,

"Did your people kill everyone on the Ark?"

Amitis shook her head, "Some of your people got away, some we caught & you and your friends weren't there. Indra found none of our people there so she turned the place upside down looking for a girl named Clarke."

Raven's eyes widened at those last words an odd feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. She was grateful that Abby had the foresight to send Clarke and the rest of the group away as she knew an attack was imminent. But the gratitude was only short lived as she had no idea what had become of Clarke since her capture by the underwater colonists.

"Is that why you were spying on my friends and me? You were hoping to find Clarke?"

"Yes! Only part of the reason though. A few days ago some of our people starting turning up mysteriously but not all of them and some were barely alive. I was sent to see if you held anymore captive."

She gestured frantically at her ankle, "Now can you get this thing off my ankle please?" She responded with exasperation. Raven held up one finger to indicate that she was going to ask one last question before granting this request.

"What does Indra want with Clarke anyway?" She crawled over and begun to loosen the trap around Amitis's ankle.

"She wants to use Clarke to get her people back and if she can't have that then her death will suffice."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Clarke could feel her lungs beginning to burn as she continued to run as fast as she possibly could through the forest. Alongside her and keeping pace with her stride for stride was Octavia whom she had miraculously woken up alongside unknowingly only moments ago.

The phrase 'Any where will do' came to mind as she paid little attention to where she was running exactly, as long as it was far, far away from the Grounders who were hot on the trail of the two of them.

"Why are they chasing us for? We haven't done anything!" Octavia cried out between breaths.

She was puzzled by these turn of events for a number of reasons. Not only because of the fact that she enjoyed an amicable relationship with the Grounders with whom she'd forged a connection with through Lincoln and Nyko his friend who was the Grounder healer, but also because they genuinely hadn't committed any wrongdoing.

"Doesn't seem like we can stop and ask now is it? No one chases anyone this hard if they're innocent of something," replied Clarke as best she could given the circumstances and increased demand for oxygen.

Octavia looked over her shoulder at the moment quickly, in an attempt to get a good look at those pursuing them when she saw that a Grounder had an arrow in place and ready to fire at Clarke's exposed back.

"Clarke! Look out!" She yelled but there was little Clarke could do on her own to prevent getting hit.

Moving with only a split second to spare, Octavia dived across, tackling Clarke to the ground as the arrow whizzed past the two of them. The arrow itself would have lodged itself into Clarke's back just underneath her shoulder blade if it had been allowed to make contact.

The force of the last ditch tackle sent both girls to the ground, but given the incline of the terrain, they rolled down the slope bumping into the hard ground feeling each rock press into the sides of their abdomens, causing lacerations as well as leaving a bruise or two.

Eventually both girls ended up in a heap on the bottom of the slope with Clarke lying flat on her back and Octavia on top of her. Octavia's face was quite close to Clarke's, her lips mere inches from hers and there was an awkward pause as the girls looked at one another before they realised the situation they'd found themselves in.

Scrambling to their feet, they started to take a step in the direction that they had been running in when they saw two Grounders standing there with weapons drawn. These Grounders were soon joined by those few who had been chasing the girls and they fanned out to surround them. One of the Grounders spoke up after a moment of silence,

"You, the blonde, this is you correct? You're the one called Clarke, yes?"

Clarke turned around to face the Grounder who had spoke to see that he was holding up and A3 sized piece of paper which had been unfurled and now facing her. To her surprise the picture was a skilled rendering of her face and she almost forget where she was for a moment whilst looking at it. She nodded as she took a defiant stance and Octavia positioned herself alongside Clarke's flank,

"Yeah that's me. What do you want with us anyway?" She asked in response, definitely curious about the fervent chase that everyone had just been through.

"The leader of the people of the Ground, Indra wants you Clarke to answer for the crimes your people from the sky have committed against us."

The tone of his voice was authoritative and left no room for non-compliance. Clarke analysed his words and couldn't help but noticing the omission from what he had said.

"You said that Indra wanted me…" she indicated to Octavia, "but what about my friend here? What happens to her?"

The Grounder merely shrugged, everything about his body language suggesting he couldn't care less, "Nothing was said about her. There's no reason to take her back with us."

At his words a few bows were drawn and pointed it Octavia's direction as she let out a brief whimper. Clarke moved to stand in front of her to block any shots made, hoping that Indra wanted her alive to have her 'answer for those crimes' in person.

Unfortunately Clarke could only cover so much of Octavia's body. Octavia slid her hand into Clarke's as she waited for the inevitable arrow to pierce her body. She shut her eyes as she heard the sound of an arrow being shot.

This was followed by another and another but she hadn't been shot. Peeking one eye open slowly and then the other she looked around at the scene surrounding her and Clarke. All those Grounders who had a bow drawn were lying sprawled on the ground each with an arrow put into their now lifeless bodies.

The remaining Grounders were looking up into the branches high up to see if they could spot who had fired these arrows. Another arrow hurtled down from high up, smacking into the Earth right at the feet of those Grounders who took off in the direction they came from with their tail between their legs so to speak.

Clarke and Octavia looked around wondering if this archer was going to show themselves. Soon enough a figure leapt from branch to branch and landed smoothly on the ground in front of them.

"Whoever you are thank you for saving us," Octavia said as the relief flooded through her voice as she finally released Clarke's hand.

The archer nodded and remained crouched on one knee for the moment. The archer's face was obscured by a hood, somewhat reminiscent of a cowl. The clothes that the archer was sporting were light and to Clarke's surprise it reminded her of the tunic and pants combination that she'd seen archer's wear when she'd been pouring over old stories in her free time when she'd wanted to look at something that wasn't medical related.

The archer then stood up, long bow in hand and quiver across their back, speaking now for the first time,

"Well it's not everyday that you get saved by a ghost right?"

The archer pushed back the hood to reveal a boy, one who Octavia instantly recognised, unable to believe who she was setting her eyes on.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After her successful pursuit & capture of the Grounder spy, Raven thought that the little chat that the two of them had had was productive. True it didn't lead to her finding Clarke or any of the others who had been captured, but it was a promising start.

Immediately afterwards, she hauled the spy, a girl named Amitis to her feet and marched her back to the Dropship. She was instantly inundated with the relief, smiles and hugs of her friends who had tried to follow her but ultimately hadn't been able to keep up with her given the head start she had.

Shortly after, she'd gotten Amitis to retell everything she'd told her to the rest of the group as she started to think ahead. She so desperately wanted to go and retrieve Clarke, but with not much to go by, she decided to stick to an outcome she could control for the time being. Which was getting the people of the Ark that the Grounders had taken hostage back.

It was then that she came to the decision all by herself to force Amitis to take the group to the Grounder settlement where those people from the Ark were being held. Raven wanted to free those people and to be given the chance to explain to the Grounders who was really responsible for the disappearances and murders.

It was in this way that she hoped that they could come to an understanding once more so that they could not only get some answers as well as their people back, but also so the Ark could go back to the way things were.

Raven secretly admitted to herself selfishly though that even though she wanted to see those hostages freed and an end to all the violence, all she really cared about for the moment was getting Clarke back. Or at least she cared more about that than the other reasons if she was being 100% honest with herself.

Along with those selfish thoughts, she was being plagued with the knowledge that the group's failure to return quickly enough led to the deaths of all those innocent people. She found herself often zoning out, just putting one foot in front of the other as they made their way towards the Grounder settlement.

"Raven…Raven!"

She lifted her head to find that it was Finn who had called her name.

"Are you okay? I called your name a few times and you didn't respond," he continued as he looked at her.

She could see the concern for her wellbeing in his eyes, nothing but sincerity there. She was glad that the two of them had still managed to remain friends despite the difficulties that were there in the beginning when Raven joined 'The 100' on the ground. She brushed some hair out of her face as she answered him,

"It's just been hard you know, with Clarke gone and now knowing that those people are dead because of us." Finn was a little annoyed at Raven's reaction and he made that clear to her,

"Hey! No! You don't get to do that. You don't get to break down now. Not you, not the strongest person I know," he lightly shoved her shoulder. "It's all our faults that we didn't get back in time to stop the Grounder attack. You don't have to bear all that guilt alone."

He pulled her into a hug which was how they stayed for a few seconds. The rest of the group had discreetly gone ahead to give them some semblance of privacy. She stiffened but eventually relaxed into the hug and put her arms around him as well.

"As for the situation about Clarke being gone, I know a thing or two about that you might remember. I'll be here to talk with about anything whenever you need me okay?" He added as he pulled back to look at her now.

He really wanted to tell her how he admired her fiery spirit that blazed through the careful erected armour she wore as part of her tough girl routine. But he also liked seeing her softer side which he'd experienced himself. He knew that Clarke was a good match for her as she often tempered Raven's fire with her cool, calm soul.

It was right in that particular instance that he felt a twinge of jealousy about what the two girls felt for one another. Along with that feeling he knew that he still possessed strong feelings for Raven and his thought surprised him when they started going off on the tangent labelled 'getting back together with Raven'.

Ever since the day that Clarke & Raven had come to save Finn and the others who had been caught whilst ironically looking for Clarke and he'd discovered that the two girls were now a couple, he'd seen Raven blossom into this stronger more heartfelt person who he now wanted to be with.

"Thanks Finn that means a lot. You've always been a good friend to me," she said with a smile as she walked past him to rejoin the others who were waiting.

The smile dropped off of his face as he felt bad for thinking what he had been a moment ago. If he tried anything and it didn't work out then both girls would probably hate him. Or at the very least, he'd crush the heart of Clarke who he didn't realise until now that he harboured some resentment towards.

'_If only she'd waited that little bit longer then it would have been me in her arms and not Raven,'_ he thought to himself quickly.

"All's fair in the heart and the blade," he muttered quietly to himself as he strode after Raven as the group continued the march to the Grounder settlement.

**A/N:**

**Music that inspired the chapter**

**As part of the writing process, I've found that music often helps spark the creativity that leads to how certain scenes/scenarios will play out. In some cases, it helps generate an idea or a different way of approaching a scene. In other cases, I imagine the music in the background setting the tone for what is to come or the emotion/s felt by those characters or even just to lend some insight into what they would be feeling (e.g. fear with a darker macabre piece of music).**

**I decided to share the music that allowed me to bring to life my fanfiction and I hope you'll see what I mean if you listen to the songs. If you'd like to hear exactly in greater detail as to why these songs were chosen feel free to inbox me!**

**Songs: **

_Fast Ambience - Jesper Kyd (When Clarke reads the note from her interrogator)_

_Flight through Jerusalem - Jesper Kyd (When Raven chases after the spy)_

_Dark Pursuit - Dan Graham (When Clarke & Octavia are being chased by the Grounders)_

_Infinite, Immortal - Mark J. Petrie (When the archer saves Clarke & Octavia and reveals their identity)_

**Congratulations you've reached the end of the chapter! Liked what you read? Didn't like it? Leave me a review as feedback is encouraged! I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head for this story but if you have a suggestion I'd love to hear it!**

**It's always nice reading reviews and each time I see that I have a new person follow or favourite the story or both it never fails to bring a smile to my dial so it's much appreciated because it makes it worthwhile knowing that there are people out there in the big wide world who are reading and enjoying what I've written.**

**Now for a bit of shameless self promotion. I have another story which I work on every now and then usually when an idea pops into my head. The story is called 'Octavia Blake: Girl on a mission.'**

**It's a story with a slow burn and may take awhile to get into especially seeing as there is only a couple of chapters in so far, but it was largely born out of a combination of seeing how distraught Octavia was when her and Lincoln got separated on an episode of 'The 100', watching a lot of the TV show 'Arrow' and the movie 'John Wick'. So if you've got a moment or two and have made it this far why not give it a look and tell me what you think.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

Clarke looked over at Octavia with a slightly bemused expression on her face, unable to comprehend why she was so shocked by the boy standing in front of them. Or the fact that she appeared to know who he was already.

"I thought you were dead. We all thought you'd died atop Mt Weather," Octavia said as she took tentative steps forward.

He stood still as he faced her with an amused expression on his face. Clarke noted the way that his blonde hair was a stylish mess as this was the only way she could describe it. His eyes locked onto hers as she spoke,

"Octavia…who is this guy? How do you know him?"

Octavia who had still be looking at him as if she had indeed seen a ghost, reached out a hand which came to rest, solidly on his forearm.

"This is the guy who carried you out of Mt Weather Clarke. This is that guy, the one who Raven has probably told you about. This is Josh."

Clarke's eyes widened when recognition set in. The name was familiar to her as Octavia rightly pointed out; Raven had indeed mentioned his exploits in saving her life as well as Finn's as they exited Mt Weather. The name was all she recognised however as she was pretty out of it at the time so his face was still that of a stranger.

"How did you survive anyway? You got shot and went over that waterfall and there was so much blood," Octavia asked her curiosity definitely peaking.

His light hearted smile was still present as he gazed wistfully away, remembering that day before returning his attention to the girls who were standing side by side once more.

"Clarke's not the only one to have gone over that waterfall and lived to tell the tale," he sighed, "Honestly I wish I knew. I woke up on the shoreline, feeling weak and tired. I was crudely patched up by god only knows who, they clearly didn't stick around to see if I recovered or not leaving me with a bullet and my knife."

Seeing as it was clear that he was indeed still alive, something just didn't make sense to Octavia,

"If you were alive all this time, why didn't you come back to the Ark?" She asked him.

He sighed loudly. After he'd first regained consciousness after being patched up, he asked himself the same question. The truth was he didn't feel he had much to go back to especially seeing as his girlfriend Keenan was dead; he couldn't face those joyous scenes of families reunited and whatnot considering he wasn't sure if he still had one on top of everything else.

"I hate to break this up exactly but we should get going. I mean who knows if the Grounders will come back with reinforcements and we should get back to the rest of the group," Clarke said, keener than ever to put this all behind her.

Looking around at the undergrowth and the other surroundings nearby and she realised that she had little idea where they were or in what direction they'd have to head if they were to go back to the Ark. Her words got Josh thinking about something he'd seen recently,

"Speaking of the rest of our friends, I saw some of them not far from here actually."

Clarke latched onto those words largely because it was good that at least someone knew where they were or where to go.

"Great! So you know how to get us back to the Ark from here?" Her tone was more enthusiastic now at the prospect of sleeping in her own bed and talking to her mom about getting her friends back from those who had captured them.

She had only one thing in mind where her captors were concerned and that was that they were going to answer to her for what they did to her and her friends.

"Wait what do you mean you saw our friends not far from here? They were captured like we were!" Octavia pointed out, briefly thinking that his time in the woods alone might be getting to him. He however answered both of their questions,

"I do know how to get back to the Ark from here. However, your friends who are captured are at the Grounder settlement which is closer to where we are now in that direction," he pointed to where he meant. "I saw that girl that Jasper was interested in, what was her name again?"

"Maya!" Both girls answered with delight at the prospect that at the very least they knew where their friends would be. Clarke looked at him with a pleading expression,

"Was Raven there?" Her voice had lowered as if she was afraid of the answer that he might give.

He simply shook his head and hers dropped, "I didn't see her." He raised a hand to acknowledge and stop the question that Octavia was going to ask, "I haven't seen your brother either. But where I saw Maya was a couple of clicks outside of the Grounder settlement, so it's possible Raven and the others are there."

Clarke's head snapped back up at these words as hope begun to fill her chest. She knew that the priority first was to go and get her friends back and then they'd deal with those who had captured and tortured her and Octavia.

"Well what are we waiting for? Lead on!" She asked rhetorically and the added to Josh as the three of them headed off towards the Grounder settlement.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It had taken the group quite awhile to get even remotely close to the Grounder settlement so it gave them a whole new appreciation of how much more room to move they had. They'd done quite a bit of exploring ever since they returned to the ground, but at least for Raven it still blew her away about all the things they could see and places they could go.

This being remarkably different from living in the Ark in space where after a few years they knew all the hallways and corridors they travelled down being so confined to the restricted nature of their living circumstances.

It was even a different feeling to when they first landed and many of 'The 100' were afraid to venture too far from the Dropship partly because of the fear of the unknown as well as not wanting to get lost in the strange and unfamiliar land they'd found themselves sent to.

As they crept ever closer they had to be wary of the increased Grounder presence. The Grounders were going about what appeared to be a routine, gathering wood and food amongst other things but these mundane tasks didn't make them any less dangerous and Raven and the group were treating every Grounder they came across with caution.

Raven turned and faced the group before they pressed on,

"Just so we're clear and all on the same page I'll run through the plan again." She took a deep breath before resuming, "All of us are going to creep closer but stay out of sight. I'm going to go in with our new friend here," she indicated to Amitis, "so I can have a chat with the Grounder leader Indra to see if we can sort this all out."

It was one hell of a risky plan going into the settlement alone, but she didn't want to provoke the Grounders any more than they already had been. So she figured the best way was to look as non-threatening as possible.

By returning Amitis and given the chance to explain what has really been going on, she hoped that the Grounders would at least let them go and consider the possibility that someone else here was to blame and not the people of the Ark.

Raven and the rest of the group had some measure of proof to indicate otherwise. _'I just hope I get the chance to prove it to them and not end up in a shallow unmarked grave instead,'_ she thought.

"What about the rest of us? What are we supposed to do while you go it alone?" Asked Keenan, a set of determination appearing in her eyes.

Raven looked over at the girl with a smile. Ever since she'd taken her under her wing to teach her how to survive, she'd begun to notice the growth in the strength of character of the girl. Each day she'd see less and less of the timid, shy and afraid of her own shadow girl and more of a fighter, more of a survivor.

Keenan herself found that ever since she'd begun to learn all these new skills, she felt filled with more purpose and that her life actually meant something more now. Back in Mt Weather she'd lived quite a sheltered life not having to take any real risks and free from any sort of danger or threats at all.

Ironically enough, the danger that she first experienced was from those within the bunker who had used her for their experiments and then when presuming those experiments had failed had left her outside for dead. But now that she could survive and had been learning to defend herself, she could live and contribute to her new group of friends that she belonged too.

She looked up to Raven in particular who had not given up on her, so it was no secret that she admired her and stuck close to her most of the time. She was prepared to back whatever plan Raven had in mind as she trusted her completely. Raven noticed Keenan nod at her,

"The rest of you are going to stay on the perimeter and keep your weapons trained on those who approach me. If it starts to get hot down there in the thick of it, that's when you'll come down to assist me, if it gets to that point that is," Raven said looking at each member of the group as she said all that.

It was Finn who had been crouched on Raven's other side, who spoke up next,

"I don't like this Raven. I don't think you should go this alone," his hands now resting on her shoulders as his gun lay discarded on the ground for the moment.

Over the last few hours she began to notice how he'd been looking at her. At first when she'd suspected someone was staring at her and she turned to see who it was, she'd notice how he'd turn away quickly, but then she'd caught him staring openly out of the corner of her eye and it got her wondering if there was more going on with him.

"I'll be fine Finn. We've been over this and besides I'm a big girl, I can look after myself."

He sighed and looked up at the sky briefly before looking back at her,

"That I don't doubt Raven, but think about this for a second. There are people here who still care for you. People who don't want to see you get hurt. People who still love you."

At the conclusion of his words, he leaned in quickly and kissed her. His hands moved up to firstly cup her face and then rested at the back of her head to prolong the kiss. Raven was surprised for a brief moment as her lips responded in kind but then it was like a bucket of cold water had been dropped on her head.

She didn't want to kiss him and the kiss itself didn't feel the same as it once did when they were together and they made out all the time. It didn't stoke the flames of her desire as it was no longer his touch and his lips she craved. Using her hands she shoved him back not once, but twice to break the contact.

"What the hell is your problem!?" She asked angrily, furious at being taken by surprise.

She hated how he looked all too pleased with himself but got a slight thrill at his brief panicked expression when she narrowed her eyes. He seemed to consider his next words carefully as he reached behind himself to pick up his gun,

"I couldn't let you go into the camp without letting you know how I felt Raven." His expression softened as his words took on a more romantic quality, "With Clarke gone you need to know that you have options. Seeing you grow into this even stronger girl, I was stupid to let you go but that's all in the past now. We can have a real future together if you'll give us a chance."

He certainly didn't see the punch come his way, which turned his head to the side, leaving the cheek that had been struck flush red. She enjoyed that hit a little too much,

"Us? Us!? Are you kidding me!? There is no us!" She swung at him again but he had the presence of mind to dodge the attack.

"So Clarke has been gone for a little while and you thought I'd just what, get back together with you like that." She clicked her fingers as she said the word that to indicate the spontaneity of such an action.

"Do you see this?" She asked as she raised the hand which had the silver ring Clarke gave her adorning her ring finger, "Clarke gave me this and she has one too. We made a promise to each other, that we'd be together now and forever. So this," she gestured to her body with her hands, "Is off limits to you and anyone else besides Clarke."

With one last disgusted look at him she said more so to the rest of the group than him, "We know the plan so let's go and do this."

She marched off in the direction of the Grounder settlement leaving Finn to lag behind more than a little bewildered, angry and hurt.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Not that they had any terrific means by which to tell the passage of time, but if they did Clarke knew that they would have lost track of the time hours ago. It seemed like they'd been walking forever, following the previously presumed dead member of 'The 100' Josh who had come to the rescue of her & Octavia from some Grounders who had cornered them.

He mentioned seeing Maya, Jasper's girlfriend in Grounder custody so Clarke had gotten him to lead her & Octavia to the Grounder settlement where she and possibly others of the group were being detained.

As she looked around, the undergrowth surrounding them did not look all that familiar but she trusted the judgement of a boy she barely knew, but who confidently strode through the forests of Virginia as if he knew them off by heart.

"We should be coming up on the Grounder settlement in a matter of minutes," he said as a matter of fact as he spared a brief glance and smile back at Clarke.

Clarke felt a tug on her arm and turned to see Octavia had stop behind her,

"What's up Octavia?"

Octavia looked side to side then at Josh pointedly who was behind Clarke,

"I'll just be over here taking a siesta for a minute," he said.

Clarke watched him walk away puzzled by this turn of events and she stood facing Octavia waiting for an explanation.

"Can I talk to you for a moment Clarke?"

Clarke nodded, "Sure Octavia. What's on your mind?" She noticed that Octavia appeared more nervous than usual which was certainly out of character for her.

Ever since that first day off the Dropship when Octavia was the first to set foot on Earth after all those years, Clarke had known her as this confident girl with an attitude. This was only further reinforced later that day when she unabashedly stripped down to her underwear to go for a swim in the river they came across when the ventured towards Mt Weather for the first time.

"What's the plan when we get to the Grounder settlement?"

Now the nervousness on display made sense to Clarke. Her friend was a tad fearful of what was to come so she took this into account when she answered her,

"It's simple really. We'll get close and I'll go in and reason with the leader Indra. She knows my face and once I explain what has been going on, I think she'll let our friends go and see reason. Maybe even reason enough to help us with our watery friends," she said as she pointed in the direction of the ocean, or at least what she hoped was the right direction.

She continued to notice Octavia's nervousness and wondered if maybe something else was on her friend's mind, "Is there something else Octavia? You don't have anything to worry about it."

Octavia had been looking at the ground, scratching her arm in a gesture to indicate that she was somewhat uncomfortable. But at these last words dismissing the worry her head snapped back, her eyes trained on Clarke,

"Nothing to worry about…What if something happens to you Clarke? How do you…How do you think I'd cope with that, just watching it happen?" She took a step closer to Clarke so they were standing quite close to each other but not invading the personal space boundaries.

"I…"

"You didn't think about that did you? Just headstrong Clarke going in to save everyone and to hell with the consequences right?" Octavia asked her voice rising a bit as it was starting to convey her frustration.

Clarke felt annoyed at Octavia's reaction. It was because of her thinking about the people she cared about that she'd undertake such a plan,

"I'm doing what I can to get our friends back and to keep the rest of you out of harm's way, can you not see that?" Clarke took an angry half step forward. Octavia's expression faltered and softened,

"Damn it Clarke don't you think it would crush those that care about you if something happened to you?" She pointed to the side indicating to Josh and then to herself,

"We're here with you through thick and thin Clarke; you don't have to do this all by yourself." She took a deep breath, her hands clenching into fists her face giving away that she'd come to a conclusion,

"I can't let you walk down there without knowing," Octavia then flung her arms around Clarke's neck bringing her lips to hers as she did something she'd wanted to do for a little while now.

Clarke was shocked as she moaned in surprise. She felt one of Octavia's hands slide up the back of her neck and in amongst her long blonde locks as she took control of the kiss. Clarke felt herself returning the kiss as she got caught up in Octavia's passion. Her own hands slide down to Octavia's waist pulling her closer. She couldn't believe how amazing this felt not having felt any other physical contact other than pain for some time now.

As Octavia pulled back and they looked at one another, both out of breath Clarke realised what she had done. A hand flew to her mouth as she stepped back and she saw the hurt that briefly flickered across Octavia's face.

"That should not have happened!" She said out loud as she felt guilt like she'd betrayed Raven for having given into the desires of another girl. Octavia however was not unperturbed,

"I know that when this is all over you'll probably run back to Raven. But after the way you kissed me back, I still have hope and you still have another option Clarke." She leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek before continuing,

"All I'm going to say is, pick me and you'll have a girl who'll do whatever it takes to make you number one all the time. A girl who'll love you more with each and every breath she takes and who'll always fight and win for you."

Clarke watched her walked past her slowly and seductively, her hand lightly caressing her shoulder as she snuck a sly grin at Clarke. Clarke's mood darkened as she begun to worry about what the implications of that kiss might be if Raven were to find out. She was even more worried about her own reaction.

The way her body reacted to Octavia's advances made Clarke second guess herself. It couldn't have come at a worse time as she hastened to catch up to Octavia and Josh who were up ahead and now looking into the Grounder settlement through some undergrowth.

As she came up alongside the two of them she was shocked to see the scene which was playing out in front of her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

'_This is it,'_ thought Raven as she mentally prepared herself to walk from where her and the rest of the group were hidden out into the open and right into the middle of the Grounder settlement. She had Amitis walking alongside her the girl no longer bound anymore as she saw not much reason to, plus having her bound would send the wrong impression. The girl walked along with Raven as they made their way further into the Grounder settlement.

She figured that once the Grounders had noticed her, their leader wouldn't waste anytime in coming out to meet her. She took in her surroundings as she walked down the gentle slope. There were huts and houses constructed along a main pathway that funnelled into a central square which was where any announcements were likely to be made.

This central square at the moment had a number of what appeared to be stalls where street vendors were attempting to sell or trade their wares to people passing by. Young children ran the streets playing games of tag and some were playing a ball game. Up at the far end of the settlement was a larger house which in all likelihood was where the leader slept and conducted business from.

As soon as she heard the shouts, Raven knew that she'd been identified. She couldn't understand the words they were saying but she had a pretty good idea what was meant by those words.

"Any time now…" she said out loud to herself as she looked around warily, keeping an eye out for threats as she came to a stop in the centre square which was now for the large part deserted.

She wasn't waiting long when she looked up, taking her gaze off the ground sensing the approach of the Grounders who'd come out to meet her. Indra, the leader was in the centre and flanked by a few Grounders with weapons on either side.

"It was foolish to come here alone," Indra said ominously looking at Raven with a certain level of disdain, her arms crossed.

Straightening her posture to hopefully exude more confidence than she felt,

"I came here to talk," Raven replied wanting to make her intentions clear from the get go.

"You can do plenty of talking from the back of the cell I throw you into!" Indra gestured with both arms for those Grounders who had accompanied her to take Raven into custody. Raven raised both arms, her hands out in front of her to get them to wait.

"I know who really took your people." When the advancing Grounders showed no signs of stopping, she continued, "Doesn't it seem odd that some would be killed and others would return for no apparent reason at all?"

Her words didn't appear to have much effect on Indra though,

"How should I know the inner workings of the strategies of your Sky people?"

Raven knew that she had to act fast as she was running out of time, so she said the one thing that could possibly stop her capture,

"I know where the rest of your people are being kept!"

Indra's gaze narrowed slightly and she barked out a command which brought the Grounders who were advancing on Raven to a halt. Before she could get out a word however, another voice broke through the brief silence,

"Raven?"

It was a voice that she could scarcely believe she was hearing but sure enough as she turned around none other than Clarke was walking towards her. The whole reason for her being there in that moment was forgotten as she raced towards her embracing her fiercely. She pulled back slightly and kissed her quickly.

"It's really you," her voice barely above a whisper as she used a hand to caress Clarke's cheek. Clarke's eyes closed as she relished the touch that she'd been without for what seemed like an eternity to her.

"I missed you so much Raven," said Clarke as she opened her eyes, a tear or two running down her face.

Raven punched Clarke in the arm, "Don't ever do that to me again, okay?" She swallowed the emotion that was threatening to force its way out unsuccessfully, "I was lost without you."

It broke Clarke's heart to see the anguish that found its way onto Raven's face. The moment however was interrupted by the harsh tone to Indra's next words,

"You said you know where the rest of my people are being held? I suppose you can take us there then, yes?"

"I don't think that's really necessary. I thought I'd bring them to you," came the voice of Clarke's interrogator as he and a battalion of colonists strode down the hill towards them.

**A/N **

**Music that inspired the chapter**

**As part of the writing process, I've found that music often helps spark the creativity that leads to how certain scenes/scenarios will play out. In some cases, it helps generate an idea or a different way of approaching a scene. In other cases, I imagine the music in the background setting the tone for what is to come or the emotion/s felt by those characters or even just to lend some insight into what they would be feeling (e.g. fear with a darker macabre piece of music).**

**I decided to share the music that allowed me to bring to life my fanfiction and I hope you'll see what I mean if you listen to the songs. If you'd like to hear exactly in greater detail as to why these songs were chosen feel free to inbox me!**

**Songs: **

_Love Tonight - Lucy Hale (When Octavia kisses Clarke before they head into the Grounder Settlement)_

_Aphelion - Jesper Kyd (When Clarke and Raven reunite)_

_Wish you were here - Delta Goodrem (When Clarke and Raven reunite [2])_

**Congratulations you've reached the end of the chapter! Liked what you read? Didn't like it? Leave me a review as feedback is encouraged! I have lots of ideas swirling around in my head for this story but if you have a suggestion I'd love to hear it!**

**It's always nice reading reviews and each time I see that I have a new person follow or favourite the story or both it never fails to bring a smile to my dial so it's much appreciated because it makes it worthwhile knowing that there are people out there in the big wide world who are reading and enjoying what I've written.**

**Now for a bit of shameless self promotion. I have another story which I work on every now and then usually when an idea pops into my head. The story is called 'Octavia Blake: Girl on a mission.'**

**It's a story with a slow burn and may take awhile to get into especially seeing as there is only a couple of chapters in so far, but it was largely born out of a combination of seeing how distraught Octavia was when her and Lincoln got separated on an episode of 'The 100', watching a lot of the TV show 'Arrow' and the movie 'John Wick'. So if you've got a moment or two and have made it this far why not give it a look and tell me what you think.**

**Thanks for reading!**


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